Aug. 20--ANDOVER -- State police seized 605 grams of heroin, worth roughly $50,000 in illegal drug sales, after a pulling over a minivan driver for having improperly tinted windows on Interstate 93.
A state police drug-sniffing dog later found the heroin, wrapped in 54 finger-like packages, stowed in a secret floor compartment of the dark blue Chrysler Voyager.
Luis Sanchez-Moreta, a 39-year-old Lawrence man who allegedly uses a variety of aliases, was arrested and charged with providing a false name to police, trafficking heroin and three outstanding warrants, state police said.
Moreta's passenger Xiomara Ortiz, 48, of Jamaica Plain was also arrested and charged on an outstanding warrant.
She was carrying $6,500 cash, which troopers also seized, state police said.
Saturday night, Trooper Daniel Doiron pulled over the Voyager around 5 near the ramp to Interstate 495 North because the front driver's window was tinted, which is illegal, he said.
A check of Moreta and his passenger Ortiz revealed the outstanding warrants. Trooper Gary Mozuch and his dog "Jacco" later discovered the presence of narcotics in the vehicle and the secret drug hideaway in a floor compartment, Doiron said.
Both Moreta and Ortiz were held without bail for the remainder of the weekend and are scheduled for arraignment today in Lawrence District Court.
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Copyright 2012 - The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
