2 Tons of Cocaine Seized in Fullerton Raid : Crime: When FBI and local officers found the cache--called the largest ever recovered in Orange County--no one was in the warehouse. It was a major drug distribution center, authorities say.

In what law enforcement officials said was the largest drug seizure in Orange County history, more than two tons of cocaine were seized Friday night from a warehouse described as a distribution center for the drug.

No arrests were made, but FBI agents believe that the 4,719 pounds of cocaine came from sophisticated drug cartels operating in South America.

Authorities estimated that the cache has a street value of $343.2 million and said the investigation is continuing as to who operated the cocaine warehouse.

While not as large as the record 21.4-ton cocaine seizure in Sylmar in September, Friday’s raid underscores Orange County’s position as a significant drug trafficking area, local police officials said at a Saturday press briefing in Santa Ana.

“In Sylmar and Orange County, they have taken 200 million doses (of cocaine) off the street--20 million doses, right here,” said Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Brad Gates, whose department aided the FBI in the operation. Gardena and Santa Ana police also assisted, but the FBI refused to explain the two departments’ involvement.

Thomas R. Parker, FBI assistant special agent based in Los Angeles, refused to discuss specifics, including whether there are suspects, how the cocaine was shipped into the county and its origin.

The investigation lasted more than a month and culminated Friday, when authorities obtained a search warrant for the Fullerton warehouse in the 700 block of State College Boulevard, near several auto shops and retail businesses, Parker said.

Inside, officials found the cocaine wrapped in boxes and stacked onto wooden pallets inside a white GMC truck.

Authorities said they think the drugs were about to be moved from the truck to two smaller vehicles that would have taken the cocaine to other locations. No one was inside the warehouse at the time of the raid.

Parker said the amount of cocaine seized suggests that the drugs were to be sold not just in Orange County but throughout the nation.

The cocaine packages bore distinctive marks, such as red stars and green blocks, which FBI officials say can be traced to cartels operating in parts of South America, which they refused to specify.

“These cartels work like major corporations. They have their own subsidiaries and their own markings” for the cocaine, Parker said.

Orange County and the rest of Southern California have seen an increase in drug traffic in recent years, in part because of successful efforts to keep drugs out of southern Florida, Parker added.

President Bush unveiled a drug plan last week that included Los Angeles and possibly Orange County in special “high-intensity” drug trafficking zones that will receive additional money. Gates and other law enforcement officials Saturday praised that plan, saying it will help authorities catch and prosecute dealers.

The Mexican border between San Diego and Brownsville, Tex., was also declared a drug trafficking zone, in hope that fewer drugs will be transported north.

“You need to look at Orange County separately from Los Angeles to see that we have a tremendous problem,” Gates said. “We’re in the war (on drugs), and we’re here to stay.”

Compared with Friday’s record-setting seizure, most drug seizures in Orange County are markedly smaller.

In December, Anaheim police headed a statewide investigation that led to the seizure of 5,000 pounds of cocaine.

Two La Mirada men were arrested and 1,100 pounds of cocaine seized in two separate raids in August and September. That operation was conducted by the Regional Narcotics Suppression Program, which brings together investigators from 19 county law enforcement agencies, the state Department of Justice and four federal agencies.

It is unknown whether the regional program was involved in Friday night’s operation.

Officials declined to detail the involvement of the local law enforcement agencies in the seizure. They also refused to confirm whether Fullerton police were involved, saying only that “several” additional departments aided the investigation.

Officials declined Saturday to specify whether they expected to make arrests soon in connection with the seized cocaine or whether the Fullerton raid is connected with other drug investigations.