The Barstow Police Department recently confiscated over 200 pounds of cocaine worth well over a million dollars during a traffic stop on February 6.
According to police, officers conducted a traffic stop of a semi-truck and trailer at around 9:38 p.m. near Interstate 15 and Lenwood Road.
Barstow officers deployed narcotics sniffer K-9 Bailey, who quickly alerted them to the trailer of the vehicle.
Upon searching the trailer, officers discovered 121 kilos – or around 266 pounds – of cocaine in individually packaged bricks.
According to data from the United Nations, the U.S. retail price for that amount of cocaine amounts to nearly $20 million.
The driver of the truck, 28-year-old Bakersfield resident Jaspreet Singh, was arrested on suspicion of possessing and transporting cocaine with the intent to sell.
This drug bust wasn’t K-9 Bailey’s first on the job.
On August 29, 2022, Bailey was involved in a very similar bust following a traffic stop of another semi-truck on the interstate.
In that case, Bailey alerted officers to 40 kilos (approximately 88 pounds) of cocaine.
The driver and the passenger in that incident – 25-year-old Pargat Singh and 24-year-old Kulvider Singh – both shared the same surname as the suspect arrested on February 6. It’s not clear at the moment if they are related.
Both Pargat and Kulvider were residents of Canada.
Jaspreet Singh was jailed at the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department’s High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto. His bail was set at $3 million.
Barstow is located in the Mojave Desert in San Bernadino County, California.