Record Haul for Glendale Police : Half-Ton of Cocaine Seized in Reseda; 3 Men Arrested

Glendale police, acting on a tip, seized 1,000 pounds of cocaine at a Reseda apartment early Friday in what officials described as the largest drug seizure ever made by Glendale authorities.

Three people were arrested in an apartment in the 18500 block of Saticoy Street, which police said was a major warehouse for shipments of Colombian cocaine.

Police estimated that the drug had a street value of $92 million.

Arrested were Norman Paz, 37, of Hollywood; Alvaro Yusty, 40, of Miami, and Nicolas Becerra, 20, listed as a transient. They are being held at Glendale Jail in lieu of $4 million bail each.

Narcotics Officer John McKillop said investigators received a tip and started watching one of the suspects Thursday.

“Sometimes you can do a case in six months and come up with nothing,” McKillop said. “And sometimes you can close a case in one day. When the dope’s in, everything happens. As soon as a load comes in, they start getting active.”

Police said they followed the suspect to the alleged “stash house”--a storage area for shipments of Colombian cocaine--Thursday night, and watched as people began preparing to load a large box from the basement of the complex into a car.

Investigators said they searched the apartment early Friday and found 455 one-kilo packages of cocaine destined for wholesale distribution in Los Angeles.

The size of the seizure surpassed two 1986 cases that netted 809 and 812 pounds of cocaine, respectively, McKillop said.

Lt. Michael S. Post, narcotics bureau commander, said the $4-million bail was unusually high. “But this was an unusually large bust and chances that they will respond on their own recognizance is unlikely,” he said.

McKillop said police are still investigating the case. Police spokesman Dean Duran said no money, guns or other materials were seized.