LOCAL : Simi Police Seize 2,068 Pounds of Cocaine in Raid Into L.A. County

Simi Valley police this morning announced the largest seizure of cocaine ever by Ventura County law enforcement officers--2,068 pounds with an estimated street value of $94 million.

The drug seizure and the arrests of five Colombian nationals were made in neighboring Los Angeles County.

Simi Valley Police Chief Paul Miller said a four-day investigation took narcotics detectives from Simi Valley to areas of Newhall and Chatsworth before the big bust was made Thursday. At 2:30 p.m. officers stopped at car under surveillance on the Golden State Freeway in Newhall and found 277 pounds of the drug inside, Miller said. Police arrested the driver, Angelo Alviro, 41, whose address is unknown, Miller said.

Later, investigators served search warrants at houses in Chatsworth and Newhall. At a house in the 9600 block of Gierson Avenue in Chatsworth, investigators found 1,791 pounds of cocaine in a van parked in the garage and arrested Roceo Campo, 26, Miller said. At a house in the Wintergreen Court in Newhall, no drugs were found, but three people were arrested. They were identified as Efraim Belalclzar, 38, and Derly De La Cruz, 27, both of whom live in the house, and Francisco Altoreilo, 28, who lives in Sepulveda.

All five were being held on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance.