A traffic stop leads to the discovery of $976,000 worth of fentanyl pills. LPD Public Information Officer Erika Thomas says around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday members of the Lincoln Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force and LSO Interdiction Unit stopped a Chevy Equinox as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation.
Investigators conducted a traffic stop along I-80 near 48th Street after the vehicle committed a number of traffic violations. Probable cause led an LSO police canine to conduct a sniff of the vehicle.
“During a search of the vehicle, investigators located almost 26,000 suspected fentanyl pills, 11 methylphenidate pills, along with various paraphernalia items, THC products and cash,” Thomas says.
Investigators then served a search warrant at the home of the driver, 39-year-old Mallory Chartraw of Lincoln. “There, they found almost 23,000 suspected fentanyl pills, psilocybin mushrooms and more paraphernalia.”
Chartraw was booked for possession with intent to deliver, possession of money while violating a drug law, possession of a controlled substance and evading the drug tax. Thomas says the passenger, 41-year-old Maria Siemsen of Lincoln was arrested and booked for possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance and evading the drug tax.
“We want to applaud the efforts of the Narcotics Task Force and Interdiction Unit for getting these drugs off the streets of Lincoln,” Thomas says.