LANCASTER COUNTY — West Hempfield Township Police have charged a 38-year-old Ephrata woman with drug possession after conducting a traffic stop on a vehicle she was traveling in last week.
Dana R. Panyanouvong, of State Street, was charged with possession of heroin and possession of crystal methamphetamine in the Nov. 5 incident, police say.
According to police, an officer was conducting traffic enforcement operations on Lancaster Avenue in the area of Malleable Road when he observed a white Oldsmobile traveling at a high rate of speed in the westbound lane. The vehicle also had equipment violations, police say.
The officer initiated a traffic stop at 12:22 a.m. While speaking to the driver, police say, the officer noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle and was given permission to perform a search by the vehicle’s occupants.
The officer recovered heroin, crystal meth and drug paraphernalia in a black book back owned by Panyanouvong, who was a passenger in the vehicle. She was taken into custody and transported back to the police station for processing before being released.
Panyanouvong is being sent a summons for Possession of Heroin and Crystal Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, police say.
