Drug Dog Sniffs Out Drug Dealer

On Saturday September 17th, 58 year old Colorado resident Javier Gomez-Mendoza was caught in possession of 3 bricks of heroin and meth. Gomez-Mendoza was traveling on I-80 in Joliet Township around 11:20pm when he was pulled over by a Will county Sheriff's office deputy and the officer's K9 partner Sem. The officer was making a routine traffic stop due to Gomez-Mendoza's illegal lane changes.

As another deputy arrived on the scene Sem performed a sniff test and detected odor of narcotics in the rear of the vehicle. Gomez-Mendoza told the police officers that he was traveling to visit his daughter in Boston and gave permission to search the vehicle. As the officers inspected the car they noticed inconsistencies in the paint job, suspicious markings on the muffler, and found mud on the muffler, but not underneath the car. The vehicle was placed on a lift so Sem could access the bottom for a more thorough sniff test.

The officers found 3 bricks of heroin or 3.4 kilograms and 6 packages of methamphetamine which was over 2.8 kilograms. Gomez-Mendoza may have been confident to let the officers search the car because he attempted to cover up the smell with black pepper. His attempt was no match for the K9's sniffer and Gomez-Mendoza was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.