A California driver\u2019s story apparently had more twists than a crime thriller, but one four-legged cop wasn\u2019t buying it.<\/p>\n
The Alhambra Police Department<\/a> announced Saturday that a routine traffic stop in Alhambra turned into a massive drug bust<\/a> after police K9 Otis allegedly sniffed out roughly 200 kilos \u2014 about 440 pounds \u2014 of cocaine stuffed inside an SUV.<\/p>\n And before cops made the jaw-dropping discovery, police said the driver offered up a couple of explanations about why he was cruising around with an SUV overflowing with mysterious cardboard boxes.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n A traffic stop in Alhambra turned into a massive drug bust after police K9 Otis allegedly sniffed out roughly 200 kilos of cocaine stuffed inside an SUV. Alhambra Police Department<\/p>\n Officers stopped the vehicle near Valley Boulevard and the 710 Freeway, though police did not disclose what prompted the initial traffic stop.<\/p>\n What they did notice was the staggering number of boxes crammed inside.<\/p>\n The department joked that the driver was hauling \u201cmore cardboard boxes than Amazon on Prime Day.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s when the explanations started coming.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> Police said the driver, identified as Julio Rangel of Huntington Park, initially claimed he was simply heading home after visiting his cousin and insisted the mountain of boxes didn\u2019t belong to him.<\/p>\n But apparently that story didn\u2019t have much shelf life.<\/p>\n Police said Rangel later rolled out \u201cversion 2.0 of his lore,\u201d telling officers he was actually transporting diesel parts to a shop owned by a friend. Then the police brought in the one officer who didn\u2019t need to hear another explanation.<\/p>\n K9 Otis and his handler arrived at the scene, where the police pup alerted to the SUV. Alameda Police Department<\/p>\n \u201cThen came the nose that knows,\u201d the department wrote.<\/p>\n K9 Otis and his handler arrived at the scene, where the police pup alerted to the SUV.<\/p>\n Officers searched the vehicle and allegedly discovered it wasn\u2019t packed with diesel parts after all. Instead, authorities said that\u2019s when they discovered the enormous amount of cocaine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rangel was arrested and booked into the Alhambra Police Department Jail, police said.<\/p>\n Otis, meanwhile, emerged as the undisputed star of the bust, earning some well-deserved praise from his human colleagues.<\/p>\n \u201cA round of a-paws for our good boy, K9 Otis,\u201d the department quipped.<\/p>\n Otis earned some well-deserved praise from his human colleagues after the drug bust. Alameda Police Department<\/p>\n Social media users were equally impressed with the crime-fighting canine.<\/p>\n \u201cDoggone it! Give that dog a bone!!!!!\u201d one commenter wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nose that knows lol,\u201d another added.<\/p>\n Others thought Otis deserved more than treats for his work.<\/p>\n \u201cCan Otis get a promotion to Chief?\u201d one user joked.<\/p>\n No word on whether Otis will be getting a shiny new badge, but after allegedly sniffing out hundreds of pounds of cocaine while a suspect\u2019s story kept changing, he may at least be owed an extra-large bag of treats.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t
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