O.C. Authorities Announce 2-Ton Cocaine Seizure

More than two tons of cocaine worth an estimated $153 million were seized during a six-month investigation into a Southland drug-trafficking ring with links to the East Coast and a Colombian cartel, Orange County law enforcement officials announced Thursday.

“It just goes to show that there are an awful lot of narcotics moving around,” said Anaheim Police Chief Joseph Molloy, speaking on behalf of the Orange County Regional Narcotics Suppression Program.

The seizure of about 4,560 pounds of cocaine was the latest in a growing number of large cocaine busts in Orange and Los Angeles counties recently.

“I think we are making a significant dent relative to the drug trade,” Molloy said. “Certainly, in this county we’ve made some awfully big seizures in the last couple of months.”

Molloy and other law enforcement officials declined to provide details on what sparked the latest investigation, saying only that they developed information last October about an alleged drug network that was distributing cocaine in Orange County and elsewhere in Southern California. The cocaine was being stored in buildings in Glendale, Lynwood and Bellflower, officials said.

Three Colombian nationals have been arrested so far, Molloy said. They were identified as Juan Carlos Marteloto, 34, of Anaheim; John Boresoff, 28, of Perris, and his cousin, Elias Figueroa Boresoff, 47, of Cali, Colombia.

“This is a very sophisticated operation and these people are major players in the operation,” Molloy said of the suspects.

In addition, eight vehicles, including a motor home, and $20,000 in cash were confiscated, he said.

Investigators allege that the drug-trafficking operation, believed to be part of the Cali drug cartel in Colombia, moved large quantities of cocaine through Orange and Los Angeles counties, and to the New York-New Jersey area, Molloy said.

At the press conference Thursday at Anaheim Stadium attended by scores of law enforcement officials and media representatives, hundreds of brick-sized packages of cocaine were displayed. Many of the packages were adorned with a scorpion-like drawing, believed to be some sort of Colombian labeling code, investigators said.

Molloy said that because one of the suspects lives in Cali, a city in southwest Colombia, investigators “assume that (the cocaine) probably is traced back to that particular cartel.”

He said investigators are trying to determine just how and where the drugs came into the country.

The first drug seizure of the investigation occurred Nov. 25 when agents followed a motor home from a Glendale warehouse and stopped it on Interstate 40 in the Mojave Desert, officials said. About 1,540 pounds of cocaine were found stashed in secret compartments, officials said.

The driver and a passenger were arrested on suspicion of transporting the cocaine but were later released without charges because officials feared publicity about the case would harm the investigation, Molloy said. The two men, Jorge Bustamente, 38, and Adolfo Gallego, 26, both of New York City, are now being sought in New York on drug charges, he said.

The rest of the cocaine was seized Wednesday during simultaneous raids at eight locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Investigators arrested Marteloto, whom they described as “major player” in the operation, at a Bellflower warehouse where nearly 1,450 pounds of cocaine were found, Molloy said.

From the same warehouse, investigators followed a white Ford Aerostar van to an undisclosed location in Costa Mesa. The van, driven by Elias Boresoff, was stopped and searched. Another 1,430 pounds of cocaine were found stacked behind a load of children’s toys.

John Boresoff, who was following the van in a truck, was also arrested.

Another 140 pounds of cocaine were found in a building in Lynwood, officials said.

The three men were being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $10-million bail each. Charges of possession of cocaine and conspiracy to transport and sell cocaine are expected to be filed against all three today in Central Municipal Court in Santa Ana, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Vickie L. Hix.

“This will probably be the largest (drug case) to be prosecuted by the Orange County D.A.,” she said.

In recent months, law enforcement agencies in Orange County have made a number of large drug seizures.

However, “It seems that each time we make one of these seizures, the void is quickly filled,” Molloy said.

Last month, law enforcement officials seized 4,919 pounds of cocaine in Fullerton in what was believed to be the largest drug seizure in Orange County.

A week later, Anaheim police stumbled upon an unrelated trafficking operation, which yielded 220 pounds of cocaine.

Earlier this month, in an anti-drug speech at Santa Ana Stadium, President Bush mentioned the seizure of 900 pounds of cocaine and praised the county’s effort in the war on drugs.

The Orange County Regional Suppression Program--the multiagency task force in charge of the latest investigation--is made up of officers from the Sheriff’s Department and police departments in Orange County, along with state and federal agencies.

Since its formation in December, 1986, the program has been responsible for the seizure of 14,000 pounds of cocaine, 3,000 pounds of marijuana and 24 pounds of heroin, a spokesman said.

O. C. COCAINE RAIDS

Some major drug seizures made by Orange County law-enforcement agencies.

March 1--900 pounds of cocaine and $10,000 in cash are seized by Orange County sheriff’s deputies. The seizure is announced by President Bush the next day during his speech in Santa Ana.

Feb. 11--220 pounds of cocaine are seized after Anaheim police stage a stakeout at an Anaheim apartment building.

Feb. 2--4,719 pounds of cocaine are seized by federal and local agents from a warehouse in Fullerton, in what is believed to be the largest such seizure in the county.

Jan. 20--Orange police seize $500,000 and 154 pounds of cocaine--the largest cocaine bust ever in that city.

Dec. 15--Concluding an investigation that began with information from Anaheim detectives, authorities seize almost 5,000 pounds of cocaine in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.