A Phoenix couple is in custody in Navajo County after a routine traffic stop revealed they were hauling over $1 million worth of fentanyl.
A deputy with the Navajo County Criminal Interdiction Unit conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 40 at milepost 300 near Goodwater, for civil traffic violations on October 10.
According to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, Rafael Quihui Andrade, age 29, and Iracema Ramirez, age 37, were arrested and booked into Navajo County Jail for multiple drug charges and unlawful flight from law enforcement. Both Rafael and Iracema are being held on a $1,500,000.00 cash-only bond.
During the traffic stop, both the driver, Andrade and passenger, Ramirez were asked to step out of the vehicle. In a split second, Andrade ran to the driver’s seat and fled the traffic stop eastbound, leaving Ramirez on the side of the road. The deputy initiated chase eastbound after the vehicle. The vehicle was located, abandon, north of Interstate 40 after exiting at milepost 303. A search of the surrounding desert resulted in Andrade being located hiding behind rocks.
A police dog was walked around the vehicle to perform a free air sniff, where he alerted positive to the presence of drugs. A search of the vehicle revealed no illegal substance.
Detectives searched the area between the traffic stop and the location where the vehicle was found. Detectives located a duffle bag that contained 72,000 suspected Fentanyl pills. The estimated street value of the narcotic drugs is approximately $1,440,000.00.