Less than a month after San Joaquin County Sheriff K9 Rango helped take more than 20,000 fentanyl pills off the street, the top dog has struck again.

This time it was more than 60 pounds of methamphetamine that was taken out of circulation.

On Wednesday morning Rango was deployed after his handler stopped a vehicle that was tailgating. The handler noticed erratic behavior in the driver and decided to use his K9 partner to determine if there was a reason why the driver was behaving so suspiciously.

Rango alerted that contraband was stashed somewhere in the car almost immediately upon walking around the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle turned up 60 pounds of methamphetamine – which can fetch more than $1 million in sold in small quantities on the street. Deputies also discovered a pair of handguns and arrested 38-year-old Jose Maria Carranza on a host of charges including possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, being a felon in possession of a gun, and others.

Carranza is currently being held on $2.78 million bail and won’t appear in San Joaquin County Superior Court until Monday, Nov. 14 at 1:30 p.m. in Downtown Stockton.

Just over a week before Halloween Rango hit the jackpot when he alerted on a vehicle in Ripon that deputies discovered was being used to transport 20,000 fentanyl pills – some of them stamped with the “M30” signifier commonly associated with generic oxycodone pills, and some of them the “rainbow” fentanyl pills that have been headlines – hidden inside of hair gel cannisters.

At the current rate of overdose deaths in San Joaquin County – multiple agencies partnered last month in a presentation informing the public about the dangers of the synthetic opioid and how to protect family members that may encounter in – the Ripon discovery likely saved numerous lives.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.