Rango strikes again.

Less than two weeks ago, San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department K9 Rango alerted deputies to the presence of narcotics in a vehicle that was found be hiding as many as 80,000 fentanyl pills during a traffic stop in Ripon.

And on Saturday Rango alerted deputies to the presence of approximately 12,000 fentanyl pills and more than $6,000 in cash that was concealed in a vehicle that was stopped for reckless driving.

According to the agency, deputies noticed a vehicle that was weaving in and out of traffic and hitting speeds as high as 100 miles per hour in the process – prompting them to execute a traffic stop.

After Rango was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, deputies made the discovery of the fentanyl pills and the cash – the second major bust he has made in as many weeks.

And this current streak of finding caches of drugs and money isn’t anything new to Rango.

It’s the fourth major bust Rango has made in the last six months.

Late last year he alerted deputies to the presence narcotics in a car that was found to be carrying as many as 20,000 fentanyl pills inside of hair gel cannisters in Ripon, and less than a month later alerted on a car that was found to be carrying approximately 60 pounds of methamphetamine.

The agency has been vocal about preserving the ability to use dogs like Rango – who is cross-trained in both apprehension and narcotics detection – to continue to carry out its law enforcement mission within the county while keeping both deputies and the public they’re sworn to protect safe.

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