The Summit County Sheriff’s Office says it has arrested the driver of a vehicle that allegedly contained an estimated $800,000 worth of cocaine.

Alexis Ariana Romero, 24, of Commerce City, has been charged with unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing or sale of a controlled substance, a Class 1 drug felony, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 drug felony, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement personnel reported they arrested Romero on March 10.

Romero has been held on a $50,000 cash bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Around noon on March 8, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office K9 Narcotic Interdiction and Detection Team initiated a traffic stop based on intelligence from state and federal law enforcement agencies monitoring the movement of narcotics across the state, the release states.

“The goal of this team is to keep our community safe through combating drug trafficking,” Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said in the release. “To accomplish that goal, it is imperative that we investigate and process these cases in accordance with the law to ensure a successful prosecution, thus further preventing illegal narcotics from entering and being distributed in our community.”

During the traffic stop, the team’s drug-sniffing dog — Baby Blue — and her handler successfully detected drugs in the vehicle, the release states. Later, when executing a search warrant, law enforcement reportedly discovered 25 kilograms of cocaine.

Romero was arrested on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant at the time of the traffic stop and released on bond prior to the search warrant being executed, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The 25 kilograms of cocaine tested positive for both cocaine and fentanyl, the release states. 

Baby Blue is trained to detect heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to the Sheriff’s Office. While she is not trained to detect fentanyl — a potent synthetic opioid linked to an increase in overdose deaths in recent years — the Sheriff’s Office has said many illegal street drugs these days are tainted with fentanyl.

“If you’re buying any illicit narcotics on the street, you can almost guarantee it is laced with fentanyl. Buyer beware,” FitzSimons said in a phone interview. “And if you’re going to do that here in Summit County please come by our office and pick up some Narcan — because you’re going to need it.”