Traffic stop nets $2.3M in drugs

“That’s a really large amount of drugs, it’s the most significant that I have seen,” said Lt. Pat Shortt, head of The Dalles Area Command.

He said information about the drug bust that led to the arrest of two men was not released during the early days of the investigation, which is still underway.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are involved in the investigation. Lodged in the Multnomah County jail and awaiting prosecution in connection with the case is Jose Joel Helguera Del Rio, 31, from Royal City, Wash., and Alberto Alejandro Martinez, 32, from Moses Lake, Wash.

The two men were taken into custody following a search of the 2008 Dodge Caravan driven by Martinez.

Shortt said the incident began when the minivan was pulled over for a traffic violation about 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 at milepost 16 on Highway 97.

According to an OSP report, the trooper observed a handgun inside the glove compartment of the minivan after it was allegedly opened by Del Rio.

The weapon was later found to be loaded, said Shortt.

Since neither Del Rio nor Martinez reportedly had a concealed carry permit, they were detained and the trooper called for assistance.

“Something like this gives you pause because it can be a dangerous thing for these guys — the officer did a good job of controlling the situation,” said Shortt.

Personnel from the Sherman County Sheriff’s Office and an OSP sergeant arrived at the scene within a short period of time.

Once the large cache of drugs was discovered during a search of the vehicle, detectives from OSP and Portland Police Bureau arrived, as well as investigators from the U.S. Marshal’s Office and U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“This was just good all-around police work,” said Shortt.

“It shows the value of having uniformed troopers out patrolling the highways – it’s a set of eyes out there. Every traffic stop could be something other than what you expect and, when that happened in this case, everyone came together to get the job done. It was an example of great teamwork.”