Restaurant Owner Suspected of Drug Sales Is Arrested

A restaurant owner was arrested on suspicion of selling cocaine at his Balboa Island takeout Mexican food eatery in Newport Beach, police said Friday.

Philip Benson, 41, of Huntington Beach was arrested Thursday afternoon at Neet-O Burrit-O, 408 E. Balboa Blvd., said Police Lt. Tim Newman.

Two-and-a-half ounces of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $6,000, were seized at the restaurant, Newman said.

“After we received a tip that there might be some drug dealing at the restaurant, we began to investigate the suspect,” he said. “Detectives from the Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Westminster police departments were involved.”

The owner of the popular 8-year-old restaurant was booked into city jail for investigation of possessing drugs with the intent to sell them, Newman said. Bail was set at $25,000.