Local News in Brief : $5 Million Worth of Cocaine Seized; 2 Colombians Arrested

Two Colombians were arrested Monday on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale after Los Angeles police narcotics detectives found nearly pure cocaine valued at $5 million in their San Fernando Valley hotel room, Detective Michael Celmer said.

Arrested and held in Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail were Gustavo Ramirez, 33, of Opa-Locka, Fla., and Maria Guverra, 29, of Miami. One of the suspects is in the country illegally, Celmer said, although he did not know which one.

Celmer said narcotics detectives began staking out the Valley hotel, which he did not name, after receiving a tip.

When Guverra left the hotel room, detectives questioned her and she allowed the detectives to enter the room, Celmer said, where the detectives noticed several one-kilogram packages of cocaine and arrested the pair. The Colombians consented to a search of the room, which turned up two additional cocaine packages, Celmer said. Nine one-kilogram packages were found in all, along with about $6,700 in cash, Celmer said.

Celmer said the Colombians might have been couriers for a large drug operation based in Miami, bringing cocaine to California distributors. “Whoever gets a portion of this is going to be a dealer himself,” the detective said.

Celmer said one kilogram of the drug is worth $30,000 to $40,000 at the point of its first sale. By the time it is diluted and sold on the street, he said, each kilogram would be worth more than $555,000.