One-Man Narcotics Squad Cracks Major Drug Ring

A four-month investigation spearheaded by the one-man narcotics detail of the tiny Bell-Cudahy Police Department broke up a major cocaine ring and resulted in the arrest of 30 suspects and the seizure of 60 pounds of the illicit drug, authorities said Wednesday.

The street value of the cocaine was estimated at $6 million to $8 million.

Bell-Cudahy Detective Jerry Guzzetta said records indicated that the organization, which wholesaled to street dealers, had made at least $50 million in sales.

Lone Drug Investigator

Guzzetta, the sole narcotics investigator in the 50-man department, named Abraham Rojas, 51, a Colombian national in the United States on a business visa, as head of the cocaine ring.

“We believe that this Rojas was a major (cocaine business) connection between Colombia, Miami and Los Angeles,” the detective said.

He said Rojas, who lived in an Anaheim condominium, used a Fullerton currency exchange agency as a front for the wholesale drug operation.

Rojas was being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, police said.

Also arrested on a variety of narcotics charges were 13 other Colombian nationals, 6 Jamaicans, 5 Cubans, 3 Mexicans and 2 U.S. citizens. Guzzetta said they were picked up in a weeklong series of raids that ended Tuesday.

‘Ruined Their Weekend’

Guzzetta said he did not believe the arrests would significantly hamper the flow of cocaine into Southern California. “But,” he added, “it sure ruined their (the suspects’) weekend.”

He said the investigation and arrests could not have succeeded without the cooperation of a number of other local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Huntington Park Police Department, the district attorney’s investigative unit, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Customs Service and the Internal Revenue Service.

Arrest warrants were served in Bell, Huntington Park, Los Angeles, Gardena, Anaheim, Fullerton, La Puente and Palm Desert. Guzzetta said that in addition to the cocaine, officers confiscated $300,000 in cash, $80,000 worth of jewelry, an arsenal of 20 firearms, a number of portable two-way radios, mobile phones and other sophisticated communications equipment, and 15 automobiles, including a 1985 Porsche, a 1985 BMW, and a late model Mercedes-Benz.

IRS Takes Action

Guzzetta said the IRS also has instituted proceedings to seize real estate and out-of-state bank accounts in the names of the suspects.

The investigation was launched four months ago when Bell-Cudahay officers served a Madera County warrant for possession of hashish on two men and instead found 7 1/2 pounds of cocaine. Several other suspects still are being sought, according to Guzzetta.