SLIDELL – A Connecticut man is behind bars after officers performing a routine traffic stop discovered 13 pounds of heroin and fentanyl hidden in the vehicle’s battery.
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies spotted a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country minivan driven by 51-year-old Felix Osorio of New Britain, Connecticut, swerve while heading northbound on Interstate 59 around noon on October 21.
The officers pulled Osorio over without incident, and Osorio consented to a search of the vehicle. The search turned up more than 13 pounds of heroin and fentanyl stashed inside the vehicle’s battery, according to police.
Osorio was arrested and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail in one count of improper lane use and one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.
“I created the Highway Enforcement Unit in 2017 in response to the large amount of illegal drugs that were coming through our parish along the I10/I12/I59 corridor,” Sheriff Randy Smith said. “Thanks to the proactive work of the deputies on our Highway Enforcement team, another drug dealer is behind bars and the dangerous narcotics he was transporting have been seized.”