Two Sisters Convicted of Running Massive 2-County Cocaine Network

Two sisters who operated a massive cocaine distribution network in Orange County and Los Angeles were convicted of drug trafficking Friday.

Flor Mary Restrepo, 30, and Luz Restrepo, 33, who were described as leaders of the network, were convicted of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute narcotics. One shipment was found in Westminster on the 15900 block of Prince Circle, where 220 pounds was seized.

The sisters face prison terms of up to 10 years and fines of up to $4 million. There is no possibility of parole, said Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Bryant-Deason, who prosecuted the case in a 2 1/2-week trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Manuel Real.

Flor Restrepo was also found guilty of using a minor, her sister, Vivian, who was 16 at the time, in the narcotics network.

The network received shipments of cocaine hidden in red, white, blue, and green packages smuggled across the Mexican border, which were believed to have originated with a cartel operating from Cali, Colombia, Bryant-Deason said.

The sisters and their associates were known as “corporate-level,” or the top distributors who then passed the drug to middlemen and street dealers, Bryant-Deason said. The network was a key force in the flow of cocaine throughout Southern California, she added.

The convictions are a major victory for the law-enforcement agencies, Bryant-Deason said, because traffickers at that level of the drug network were found guilty.

“We got numero uno , who was Flor Restrepo, and the others who followed her as well. That’s usually not the case,” Bryant-Deason said.

The sisters were arrested April 10 in a string of arrests and raids that yielded a total of 1,166 pounds of cocaine, including 950 pounds that were seized in a van in Huntington Beach, and thousands of dollars. The total street value of the cocaine, weighing 1,200 pounds, was about $196 million, one of the biggest drug busts in Orange County.

Others convicted on the same charges were their brother, Faber Antonio Restrepo, 26, a brother-in-law, Carlos Alberto Montoya, 32, and five associates: Claudio Roger Martinez, 26; Olga Naranjo Garcia, 32; Janeth Naranjo; 30; Juan Casanova, 34, and Luis Fernando Monsalve, 22.

Los Angeles police followed the network after a tip earlier in the year. After a two-month surveillance, police found 950 pounds of cocaine in a van driven by Martinez who was meeting with Monsalve and Casanova at the Westminster Pavilion Shopping Center. After those arrests, the police then issued search warrants for the rest of the network.