2 Get Prison Terms in ‘No Dope’ Drug Case
Two members of what authorities described as a major San Fernando Valley cocaine ring were each sentenced Monday to three years in prison for dealing large amounts of narcotics even though police found no drugs when they investigated the ring last year.
The so-called “no dope” drug conspiracy case was the first of its kind in Los Angeles County, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office said.
Arturo J. Aguilera, 35, of Tarzana and Galo P. Iturralde, 28, of Granada Hills are each expected to serve about two years, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn McNary. Haripal Singh Sagoo, 24, of Granada Hills was sentenced to five years probation, McNary said.
As part of a plea agreement last month, Aguilera and Iturralde each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport cocaine. Sagoo pleaded guilty to a felony money-laundering charge.
Burbank police and federal agents last spring linked the three to a narcotics transaction involving a 332-pound shipment of cocaine valued at $2 million. But when police searched several homes and businesses from which the ring allegedly operated, they found only traces--too small to use as evidence--of illegal drugs, police said.
Under federal forfeiture laws, the Burbank Police Department may be allowed to keep most of about $1.7 million in cash and other property seized in the investigation.
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