5 Suspects Arrested, $10 Million Worth of Cocaine Seized

Buena Park police, answering a complaint about a man with a gun, stumbled onto a drug transaction that led to the arrest of five suspects and seizure of $10 million in cocaine and $37,000 in cash, police said Wednesday.

The arrests were made Monday after a Buena Park officer investigated a “man with gun” complaint at the Quality Inn, 7555 Beach Blvd. Police were not aware that federal customs and Internal Revenue Service agents already had the suspects under surveillance when the officer arrived about 5 p.m., said Terry Branum, Buena Park police spokesman.

The armed man turned out to be a customs agent, Branum said.

The investigation had led officials from U.S. Customs and the IRS to an apartment at 601 Chippewa St. in Anaheim late Monday.

Armed with a search warrant, authorities rummaged through the apartment, which was described as an “office and warehouse,” and found more than 70 pounds of cocaine in three boxes and a suitcase stowed in a closet.

Authorities said the cocaine, almost 37 kilograms, has a street value of $10 million. Also seized were $37,000 in cash, three cars and an automatic pistol.

Ledger books allegedly show that the suspected drug ring had a $1-million-a-month cocaine operation, primarily in Orange County, Branum said.

Despite the amount of cocaine confiscated, the drug bust was downplayed as only a “sizable” score by law enforcement authorities.

“It does show that there must be a lot more cocaine in the county when we make a bust like this after stumbling upon it,” Branum said.

Only six months ago, Buena Park police seized five kilograms of cocaine, he said.

Alan Walls, customs special agent in charge, said that federal agents had suspected drug activity at the hotel after a recent surveillance of one of the suspects, Rita Loren Rubio.

Rubio, 23, of Downey, was seen leaving the hotel with a shoe box tucked under her arm.

When police stopped Rubio and looked into the box, they found about five pounds of cocaine. Rubio was arrested, along with another woman and a man.

Charge with possession of narcotics for sale were Rubio; Lillian Carillo Prado, 28, of Los Angeles; and Francisco Archyvaldo Padilla, 44, of Simi Valley.

Also charged with possession of narcotics for sale at the Anaheim apartment were Don Matus, 56, and Alva Lucia Restrepo, 27, both of Garden Grove.

All five suspects are being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail each, Branum said.