Hwy. 97 traffic stop near La Pine turns up 5 pounds of cocaine

A Washington state resident was arrested when a Highway 97 traffic stop south of La Pine turned up more than five pounds of cocaine worth more than $67.000 in his car, Oregon State Police said late Friday, calling it “a significant seizure.”

Moises Sanchez Alcaraz, 58, of Mattawa, Washington was driving a 2006 Porsche Cayenne heading north on Highway 97 at milepost 170, two miles south of La Pine, around 4:20 p.m. Thursday when an OSP trooper stopped him for several traffic violations, said Sgt. Kyle Hove. The nature of the traffic violations was not disclosed.

During the stop, the trooper observed “numerous criminal indicators,” Hove said, and a consent search of the car found 5.2 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value of more than $67,000, the sergeant said.

Sanchez Alcaraz was arrested and booked into the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, where he remained held late Friday on $500,000 bail, facing charges of cocaine possession and delivery.

“This is a significant seizure of illegal drugs in transport by Oregon State Police,” Hove wrote in a news release. “It is believed that seizures such as this have the capability to make an immediate impact in the safety of communities in the Northwest.”