In its first bust, West Covina police dog finds 60 pounds of meth in car

The newest K9 cop at the West Covina Police Department made its first bust over the weekend, sniffing out 60 pounds of methamphetamine stuffed under the seats of a Nissan Rogue.

On Saturday, officers conducted a traffic stop on the silver 2010 Rogue near Vincent Avenue and the 10 Freeway. During the stop, officers found methamphetamine under the driver’s seat of the vehicle and detained the driver.

That’s when Rye, the department’s newest canine, was called in.

Rye sniffed out meth hidden in two hidden compartments, one under the driver’s seat and one under the front passenger’s seat, authorities said.

The driver, Pedro Lopez, 28, of Paramount, was arrested and booked on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine for sale and transporting narcotics in a hidden compartment, the Police Department said in a statement. Lopez’s bail was set at $1 million, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s inmate information.

Rye was field certified in narcotic detection in April 2018. It was the dog’s first narcotic detection since being certified.