CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : CHULA VISTA : CHP, U.S. Agencies Release Sting Details

The first undercover, joint operation of the California Highway Patrol, U.S. Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration has netted drugs with a street value of $2.3 million, 32 firearms, stolen cars and cash totaling more than $1 million, officials announced Friday. The sting, dubbed “Operation Hydra,” began in 1987 and was operated out of a Chula Vista warehouse that opened in May, 1988, said Clarence Tuck, chief of the California Highway Patrol. Since the sting began, 41 people have been arrested. Of those, 21 have been convicted, and the others are awaiting trial in state and federal courts, Tuck added. In the sting, undercover agents posed as buyers of the stolen cars, drugs and guns, Tuck said. Audio and video equipment, hidden behind a false wall, recorded the exchange of cash for contraband.