Local News in Brief : Countywide : 3 Arrested, $3.3 Million Worth of Cocaine Seized
Three people were arrested and almost 150 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $3.3 million was seized by the Orange County Regional Narcotics Suppression task force, officials said Friday.
The arrests came late Thursday afternoon at two homes in Fullerton and Rancho Cucamonga, where the cocaine was found packaged in cardboard boxes.
Sgt. John Beteag, whose task force unit conducted the surveillance and raids that led to the arrests, said the men arrested are Manuel Sandoval Lozano, a 53-year-old Mexican national, Ernest Sota, 42, a native of Puerto Rico, and Orlanda Scarpetta, 33, a Colombian citizen.
Sandoval, who listed his home address as in Deming, N.M., was arrested at a condominium on Gingerwood Drive in Fullerton, where 101.2 pounds of cocaine was found hidden in an organ, Beteag said.
Sota and Scarpetta were arrested in an apartment in Rancho Cucamonga where 46 pounds of cocaine was found in the back of a truck.
All three suspects were taken to Orange County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy to possess cocaine for sale. Bail was set at $1 million each.
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