Police Discover Heroin In Teddy Bears

Ontario, OR – $200,000 worth of heroin has been seized from two Arizona women after a traffic stop. On January 30, 2013, troopers in the state of Oregon stopped a 2005 Honda Accord. The vehicle had been heading west on Interstate 84 and failed to make a proper signal before changing lanes.

The driver, 22-year-old Sonla Marquez-Lozano and her passenger, 20-year-old Yedid Zamudio-Vazquez, are both from Phoenix, Arizona. Oregon State Police swept the vehicle and discovered two Valentine’s Day teddy bear baskets in the trunk stuffed with nearly five pounds of the illegal drug heroin.

Both occupants of the car were arrested and booked into the Malheur County Jail on unlawful possession and distribution of a controlled substance charges.

Oregon State statute 475.854, the unlawful possession of heroin, is a class B felony. Statute 475.850, the unlawful delivery of heroin, is a class A felony. Felony drug charges can result in 10 to 20 years in prison and up to $375,000 in fines. Charges for simple possession are often less serious than charges for possession with an intent to distribute. Penalties can be increasingly severe based on the amount of substance trafficked and found in the person’s possession.

Heroin, an opiate, can be injected, snorted, or smoked. Injecting is the use of a needle to administer the drug directly into the bloodstream. Snorting is the process of inhaling heroin powder through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Smoking involves inhaling heroin smoke into the lungs. Any of these manners of administration rapidly delivers the substance to the brain, as it bypasses the blood and lipid bilayer of the brain and is converted into morphine. Heroin use leads to immediate addiction and other severe health problems.

[Image via Shutterstock]