East Haven Police K-9 Sniffs Out Large Amount of Heroin and Cocaine: Police

EAST HAVEN, CT — A Branford man was arrested on Narcotics charges by the East Haven Police Department after a K-9 team locates a large amount of drugs, said Police Lt. Joseph Murgo.

On Sunday at 9:21 p.m. Officer Luke Rasile, who was working routine patrol, located a suspicious vehicle backed into a parking space in the parking lot of McDonalds at 687 Main Street in East Haven. Upon making contact with the operator identified as Anthony Cardinali, 27, of Branford, Rasile observed drug paraphernalia on his lap, police said.

Moments later, backup Officer Kevin McGuire and his partner K-9 Ace arrived and conducted a narcotics sweep of the vehicle, police said. K-9 Ace located 3.4 grams of cocaine, approximately 37 bags of heroin, (suspected) ketamine and paraphernalia within the vehicle, police said.

Cardinali was arrested and charged with possession of narcotics, illegal manufacture, distribution, sale of narcotics, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15.

“This is yet another example of the results of proactive police work mixed with the specialty training of our K-9 program," Murgo said. “A dual purpose dog like K-9 Ace who is trained in narcotics detection as well as tracking is a valuable asset to any community.”

Images via East Haven Police Department