Police Say 'Brave' Boy Reported Father Had Drugs In Luggage

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LAWRENCE (CBS/AP) — Police in Lawrence are praising an 11-year-old boy who reported that his father had drugs in his luggage.

Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick said the boy also told officers on Wednesday that he had seen his father selling drugs earlier in the day.

Fitzpatrick called the boy "brave."

Police say they found more than 200 grams of heroin and the powerful opioid fentanyl, with a street value of about $8,500, in the suitcase.

A boy alerted police to drugs in his father's luggage. (Image Credit: Lawrence Police)

The father, 41-year-old Yamil Mercado, was arraigned Friday on charges of trafficking heroin and reckless endangerment of a child. Mercado was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on June 26.

The boy is in the care of family members. The Department of Children and Families is investigating.