60,000 fentanyl pills, cocaine recovered during traffic stop in western Colorado

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKTV) - A deputy found more than they were bargaining for when making a traffic stop in western Colorado earlier this week.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office says one of its deputy pulled over the car for phony license plates -- and ended up recovering roughly tens of thousands of fentanyl pills.

The traffic stop happened on I-70 near Fruita Monday afternoon. Following the traffic stop, the sheriff’s office says the driver consented to his car being searched.

“Upon a voluntary search of the vehicle, the deputy discovered an estimated 60,000 blue pills consistent with fentanyl, 5 ounces of cocaine and a large sum of U.S. currency,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a news release.

Suspect Henry Espinal-Meza, 30, was booked into the Mesa County jail and is facing three counts of possession with intent to distribute.