Police: $500,000 in heroin was hidden in hydraulic-powered Jeep compartment

When state police stopped David Manuel Mora this week for traffic violations on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt. Pleasant, the Philadelphia man gave permission to search his Jeep, perhaps because he didn't think the officer would find a high-tech hidden compartment, according to state police in Greensburg.

Trooper Robert Warman of the state police Drug Law Enforcement Division did find the secret, hydraulic-powered opening in the rear of the vehicle along with its contents — 500 bricks of heroin, equivalent to about 25,000 packets, worth $500,000.

“We were very fortunate he was able to come across this. Obviously, it's a very significant amount of heroin,” said Trooper Steve Limani.

Mora, 22, is charged with manufacture, delivery or possession of a controlled substance. He remains in Westmoreland County Prison on $2.5 million bail.

Mora was stopped at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday for a brake light violation and following too close, according to state police.

Troopers look for traffic violations when hunting down drug suspects, Limani said.

“We count on the fact that they're going to make mistakes while they're out there,” he said.

The secret compartments drug runners install, called “traps,” typically have elaborate opening mechanisms, Limani said.

“Usually in traps, there is some type of sequence they can use when it comes to playing the radio, hitting a button in the vehicle, turning the vent speed on high or low, and that will activate the trap,” he said.

Troopers usually don't know the sequence to open a particular trap.

Police are able to bypass them by using a battery to jump-start the car's electronics, forcing the hydraulics to activate, Limani said.

Thursday's arrest is an example of how high tech some criminal operations are, Limani said.

“They're killing our neighborhoods, ruining people's families and lives. If they have the ability to be this technologically savvy, couldn't they use it for something good?” he said.

Limani said the heroin was on its way from the East Coast to Pittsburgh for distribution in the region. He said the seizure will put a dent in the local heroin supply.

The heroin will be sent to a state police laboratory for testing, which will show whether it was laced with even more deadly substances like fentanyl or carfentanil.

Mora is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Thursday before District Judge Roger Eckels.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646, jtierney@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Soolseem.