Police seize over $100K in cash, 45K fentanyl pills in north Phoenix; suspects arrested

Police seize over $100K in cash, 45K fentanyl pills in north Phoenix

Inside the vehicle, police found evidence of drugs and arrested 46-year-old Christopher Onei Consales and 32-year-old Natasha Rae McMurrian. A search warrant was then used to find more illegal items.

PHOENIX - Police say two people were arrested after officers seized cash, fentanyl pills and weapons following a traffic stop in north Phoenix.

According to a tweet from Phoenix Police, officers stopped a vehicle last week near 40th Street and Thunderbird that was believed to have been related to illegal drug activity.

Inside the vehicle, police found evidence of drugs and arrested 46-year-old Christopher Onei Consales and 32-year-old Natasha Rae McMurrian.

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Christopher Consales

After obtaining a search warrant for the suspects' home, officers found the following:

$101,364 in cash
45,000 fentanyl pills
1,500 Xanax pills
Nine firearms, three of which were reportedly stolen
4.6 pounds of fentanyl powder
5 ounces of heroin
Stolen motorcycle

"This is a recipe for disaster," remarked Phoenix Police Sgt. Ann Justus.

What began as a traffic stop for alleged traffic violations, officers believed something more was going on.

"Officers started keeping an eye out in that neighborhood what they saw was a vehicle committed some traffic violations leaving that area. They conducted a traffic stop near Tatum and Bell and as a result of that traffic stop they contacted the two individuals. They had felony warrants and there were also drugs in the car."

Police paperwork shows that after being read their Miranda Rights, the suspect admitted he was in possession of even more illegal items at his home. After obtaining a search warrant, that's when officers found the rest of what was eventually seized.

"We are certainly glad that we got this taken care of before anything violent happened in that area," Justus said.

On Jan. 24, Consales and McMurrian appeared before the Superior Court of Arizona for their preliminary hearings. Consales is being held on a $100,000 dollar cash bond, while McMurrian was not granted bail.

"There were 40,000 pills. We can’t even quantify how many lives may have been saved by getting those pills off the street," Justus said.