I-5 traffic stop finds heroin worth $1.1 million

Oregon State Police said Saturday a traffic stop on Interstate 5 near Ashland has turned up about 55 pounds of high-grade heroin worth an estimated $1.1 million, one of the largest such hauls ever in southern Oregon.

The driver, from Hillsboro, was arrested.

OSP Drug Enforcement Section detectives said they believe it’s the largest heroin seizure by OSP in recent memory in the southern Oregon area.

According to Sgt. Jeff Allison, around 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, an OSP trooper stopped a 2006 Cadillac SRX SUV displaying Oregon license plates northbound on Interstate 5 near milepost 15 for a traffic violation.

The driver was identified as Raul Mendoza, 65, of Hillsboro.

A subsequent investigation led to the discovery of 15 individually sealed packages of heroin, weighing about 55 pounds, concealed in the vehicle, Allison said. An OSP drug-detection K-9 utilized during the stop.

The seized heroin has an estimated value of $1.1 million.

Mendoza was arrested and lodged in the Jackson County Jail on heroin possession and distribution charges. Bail is set at $250,000.