Local News in Brief : Countywide : 6 Arrested, Drugs Seized in 3 Raids
Federal drug agents arrested five men and one woman in three early-morning raids Thursday in Anaheim and Fullerton, seizing marijuana, cocaine and black heroin valued at $246,000.
Drug Enforcement Authority officials from Santa Ana seized 120 pounds of marijuana, 3 kilograms of cocaine, 6 ounces of heroin and $15,000, according to DEA agent Ralph Lochridge.
At one of the Fullerton sites, agents found marijuana in four car tires that had been inflated and attached to rims. In addition to the drugs and money, the DEA seized two 9-millimeter pistols, two .22-caliber rifles and one AK-47 assault rifle, Lochridge said.
The arrests took place at 834 and 912 Whitewater Drive in Fullerton and at 1033 N. Loara St. in Anaheim.
The six suspects, ranging in age from 19 to 37, were arraigned Friday on charges of possession of marijuana, cocaine and black heroin for sale and are being held in Orange County Jail. Three of the suspects are being held in lieu of $1-million bail and the other three at $500,000 bail. The five men are all illegal aliens, and the woman is a U.S. citizen, Lochridge said.
The suspects were identified as Esteban Zepeda Barragan, 37; his wife, Yesenia Maria Quintana, 19; Andres Bautista Chavez, 23; Gustavo Leyva Ramirez, 27; Enrique Baltazar Aguirre, 28, and Rodrigo Nuno Murillo, 21.
Lochridge said that the arrests were made after a 1-week investigation and that all the drugs had come from Mexico.
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