A traffic stop on Highway 97 north of Madras led to the seizure of 14 pounds of heroin. According to Oregon State Police, on October 2, 2022, at about 12:53 P.M., an OSP Trooper stopped a vehicle for speeding on US 97 near milepost 84, about 13 miles north of Madras. During the course of the stop, reasonable suspicion was developed for drug trafficking. A search of the car revealed 11 bundles of narcotics in the trunk of the car, with a gross weight of nearly 14 pounds; a preliminary test showed the narcotics to be heroin.
The driver was identified as a 29-year-old Vancouver, Washington man, along with a 23-year-old female passenger. The driver was booked into the Jefferson County Jail for various drug crimes and the female passenger was released.
This is an ongoing investigation with no further information being released.
OSP Troopers were assisted during the investigation by Detectives from the OSP-Criminal Investigations Division-Drug Enforcement Section (Domestic Highway Enforcement Initiative) and the US Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (Medford).
The Oregon State Police-Domestic Highway Enforcement Initiative is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives, including the OSP-DHE Initiative.
