Police Seize $1.3 Million in Drug Raid; 7 Arrested

After a three-month investigation into a major cocaine distribution and money-laundering network, Burbank police Sunday announced that they and U.S. Customs Service agents had seized $1.3 million in cash, along with four luxury cars, guns, furs and jewelry.

Seven people were arrested, and more arrests are expected, police said.

It was the largest single cash seizure in the Burbank Police Department’s history, said Lt. Joe Valento.

Most of the money, which Valento said investigators believe was earned through drug sales, was stored in cardboard boxes inside a mini-storage locker and a residential garage.

No drugs were found at any of the 11 Los Angeles locations searched Thursday and Friday. But investigators did find paper work that indicated about 300 pounds of cocaine--which Valento valued at $2 million wholesale--recently had been distributed through the network.

Hurting Distributors

“You’re always disappointed when you don’t get the drugs, because our main purpose is to get the drugs off the street so it doesn’t get into the pipeline,” he said. “But anytime you can hurt the distributors, that’s helpful, too.”

During the raids, six San Fernando Valley residents and a Texan were arrested on narcotics distribution charges, and Valento said more arrests associated with the case are expected. All seven were being held Sunday at Burbank municipal jail on $2 million bail each.

Arrested for allegedly conspiring to distribute narcotics were: Arturo J. Aguilera, 33, and Nelly P. Villegas, 36, both of Tarzana; Mukhtiar S. Sagoo, 55, Iqbal S. Sagoo, 26, Haripal H. Sagoo, 22, and Edward F. Pena, 19, all of Granada Hills; and Filiberto Prieto, 32, of Houston.

The four luxury cars seized were three Mercedes-Benzes and a 1987 Ferrari Testarossa, “the kind Don Johnson drives,” Valento said, referring to the star of the “Miami Vice” television series. Los Angeles Ferrari dealers said the Testarossa is worth about $150,000.

More Cars Missing

Three less expensive cars--a Corvette, a Jeep and a Nissan--also were taken in the raids. Valento said investigators believe the network owns at least three more luxury cars that are still missing.

Of the $1.3 million in cash, $800,000 was found in boxes in a Tarzana garage in the 5400 block of Lindley Avenue, which was not the home of any of those arrested. Another $500,000 and a money counter, used to mechanically count large quantities of cash, were found in a locker at the V P Self Storage in Tarzana.

From another Tarzana location--the home of Aguilera, in the 4900 block of Vanalden Avenue--police took approximately $30,000 in guns, jewelry, cash and another money counter. In Granada Hills, $20,000 in money and guns was uncovered at the Sagoos’ home in the 11500 block of McLennan Avenue, and about $700 was found at a residence in the 12800 block of Neon Way.

Six other locations in Granada Hills, Tarzana and North Hollywood were searched, Valento said, but no other evidence was found.

Federal Program

The seizure may be a boon to the Burbank Police Department, because a 4-year-old Federal Justice Department program allows local law enforcement offices to keep up to 90% of money and property taken during drug raids. One of the requirements for participating in the program is that a federal agency be present during the seizures, Valento said, which is why customs agents were involved.

Since Burbank entered the program three years ago, it has received more than a million dollars from drug seizures, he said, adding that part of the money went for a helicopter worth about $600,000 and a drug-sniffing dog worth about $5,000.

“Those are things that you normally have to go through the normal budget process for, . . . that you have to plan for years ahead of time,” he said. “They are the little things that can help in these investigations.”

Both the helicopter and the dog were used in Friday’s raids, he said.