$2.3K in Oxycodone Seized After Traffic Stop

A Lakeland man faces criminal charges after a routine traffic stop in Bradenton resulted in the discovery of 144 Oxycodone pills inside his car.

According to the Bradenton Police Department, Officer Smolarz stopped a car around 7:13 p.m. Monday after noticing a window tint violation. When Smolarz pulled the driver over, the motorist gave permission for a vehicle search, an email to media from the agency stated.

Inside the car, the officer found a backpack containing $2,320 worth of Oxycodone pills. The driver, the email said, told the officer the pills were for his own personal use and were obtained without a prescription.

Smolarz, the email said, didn’t quite buy that and charged the man, Randolph Santiago, 41, with a single count of trafficking in Oxycodone. The charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison upon conviction.

“Oxycodone is well known as being an abused prescription narcotic,” the department’s email explained. “The abuse of Oxycodone often leads to the abuse of other street narcotics, in most cases heroin.”

Santiago was released from the Manatee County Jail Wednesday in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Booking photo courtesy of the Manatee County Jail