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Man found with cocaine, heroin

When the 2011 Cadillac that a customer rented wasn’t returned to the Vernon Budget Rent A Car dealership the dealer manager got suspicious.

When the 2011 Cadillac that a customer rented wasn’t returned to the Vernon Budget Rent A Car dealership a week after the agreed return date, the dealer manager got suspicious.

He phoned Vernon RCMP on Oct. 13 to say that the Caddy, due back Oct. 4, hadn’t been returned, and that there was no agreement for the customer, who had given a Salmon Arm address,  to have the vehicle after Oct. 4.

Through the vehicle’s OnStar global positioning system, police tracked the vehicle to a residence in Vernon near 35th Street and Centennial Drive, and found a dog inside the vehicle.

“As our officer was waiting for the Budget manager to arrive, a man approached the car,” said Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk.

The man was arrested and a search was conducted of the carry-all bag he had on his person in an effort to find the keys to the Cadillac.

Police found quite a bit more than they were expecting.

“There was more than 70 grams of crack cocaine, powdered cocaine, heroin and 11 oxycodone (a narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine) pills,” said Molendyk. “They also found a large knife, four cell phones and a quantity of cash.”

A 27-year-old Salmon Arm man was taken into custody. He was released on a promise to appear in Vernon Provincial Court Thursday.

There is no word on what happened to the dog.