Local News in Brief : Millions in Cocaine Seized; 4 Arrested
A routine border inspection of a truck and the tracking of the auto up the California coast by federal agents led to the seizure of 1,513 pounds of cocaine and the arrest of four Mexicans, authorities said Wednesday.
The 688 kilos of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $140 million, was seized Tuesday from a refrigerated cargo van the suspects parked in a rented Gardena warehouse, said Ralph Lochridge, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The seizure, made by a joint force of U.S. Customs, Border Patrol and DEA agents known as Operation Alliance, was the largest in California this year, Lochridge said.
The cocaine was brought into the country in a truck driven by one of four suspects, all Mexican nationals, Lochridge said.
During a routine border inspection, which occurred while the truck’s driver was involved in document checks in another area, officials drilled into the truck’s overhead compartment. The bit came away with cocaine residue.
Federal agents were notified about the discovery and agents followed the van to a rented Gardena warehouse.
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