23 Arrested, $6 Million Seized in Investigation of Drug Cartel

Authorities have arrested 23 people and seized more than $6 million in cash in breaking up what they described as a major Mexican drug cartel that funneled cocaine from Colombia to Southern California, the Burbank Police Department reported Wednesday.

The arrests and seizures, completed Tuesday, culminated a monthlong investigation by a state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement team that included officers from the Burbank, Downey, South Gate and Whittier police departments. Compton Police Department officers assisted in the investigation, Burbank Police Sgt. Don Goldberg said.

“We consider this a very significant arrest,” Goldberg said. “We feel these are upper-echelon people in a major cartel. This organization, for all intents and purposes, has been put out of business.”

Twenty suspects were arrested in the San Fernando Valley, Burbank, Los Angeles and Long Beach, Goldberg said, and three were arrested in Yuba City, in Northern California. All are Mexican nationals, he said.

Bail has been set at $1 million each, and arraignment is scheduled for today in Los Angeles Municipal Court, he said.

Authorities seized seven cars, five guns, a money counter and cocaine with an estimated street value of $14,000, Goldberg said. Much of the cash was kept in plastic garbage bags at suspects’ residences, he said.

Additional arrests are expected in the next few days, Goldberg said.

The cartel does not appear to have connections with the organization that operated a Sylmar warehouse where authorities in September made the world’s biggest cocaine seizure, Goldberg said.