Drug Money Seizures Far Ahead of 1988 Rate
After a raid on a house that netted 262 pounds of cocaine and $630,000 in cash, Glendale police said they have already seized as much drug money in the first four months of this year as was collected in raids all last year.
Capt. Thomas M. Rutkoske of the department’s investigative services division said Glendale officers confiscated the cash in the raid Friday in Tarzana, bringing the department’s total this year to $2 million.
Rutkoske said about 75% of the money is expected to be returned to the department as its share under anti-drug laws. The money, as well as two Volkswagen Jettas also seized Friday, can be used to buy equipment for the Police Department, Rutkoske said.
Police said the amount of cocaine seized--262 pounds worth about $16 million--was about average in a typical raid. However, they said, it was unusual to find such a large sum of money along with the drugs.
At an arraignment Tuesday in Los Angeles Municipal Court, three Colombian nationals pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing drugs for sale and money from the sale of drugs, said Ellen Berk, deputy district attorney with the major narcotics unit.
Judge David S. Milton ordered that Francisco Javier Giraldo-Lopez, 33; Henry Gomez, 24, and Fredys Perdomo Grueso, 26, all of Tarzana, be held on $4 million bail each.
Police said the investigation began in Glendale and led to the house in Tarzana.
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