A Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office K9 deputy stopped a black 2008 Ford Taurus with Kentucky plates on I17 south near Highway 260 for speeding and a lane change violation. The driver was identified as 63-year-old Karl Harz from Southern California.
Harz was the only occupant in the vehicle and provided a Kentucky driver’s license upon request.
While the deputy was conversing with Harz, he noticed numerous signs of deception regarding travel plans. Harz seemed more nervous than the innocent motoring public, and it appeared Harz was under the influence of a stimulant.
Due to suspicions Harz might be transporting contraband, deputies requested permission to search the vehicle, and Harz declined. As a result, deputies deployed a YCSO certified narcotics detection K9 for an exterior sniff of the Taurus. The K9 displayed an odor alert on the vehicle indicating the likelihood of narcotics inside. During a check of the vehicle interior, deputies found a stack of US Currency, approximately $9000, by the front seat and a small quantity of methamphetamine in a cup holder. When the trunk was examined, deputies located several stacks of US Currency in a duffle bag and additional currency stacks hidden inside liquor bottle bags. The total exceeded $104,000.
Deputies determined the money was connected to drug transactions and the cash was seized. The K9 alerted to the currency during a controlled blind sniff test conducted as part of follow-up during evidence processing.
Harz was booked at the Camp Verde Detention Center on charges including Money Laundering, Possess Dangerous Drugs and DUI-Drugs. He remains in-custody on a $250,000 bond.
The K9 team has been very busy in recent weeks with drug associated cash seizures, including $52,000 on February 5 and $10,000 on January 31, 2014.