$46.5-Million Worth of Cocaine Seized
San Fernando police and federal drug agents have seized nearly 410 pounds of high-grade cocaine worth an estimated $46.5 million in a bust that officials said was one of the largest in that police department’s history.
Authorities arrested Jose Madera, 48, of Edison, N.J., in San Bernardino County Tuesday soon after watching him transfer seven boxes containing the 186 packages of cocaine from one rented truck to another, which he drove away. No other arrests were made.
Police and federal Drug Enforcement Agency agents had tracked the cocaine for four days, first in an undisclosed location in the San Fernando Valley, and then in a City of Industry motel parking lot. The drug was being transported in a rented truck that also contained 200 boxes of tortilla chips, said Police Sgt. Jim Pollock.
Madera, who was arrested in Ontario, is charged with transport and possession of cocaine for sale and remains in custody with bail set at $100,000.
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