365 Pounds of Cocaine Seized by Investigators

Orange County narcotics officers seized 365 pounds of cocaine in Los Angeles County over the weekend.

Investigators from the county’s Regional Narcotics Suppression Program found the cocaine Saturday in three cars that were under surveillance, spokesman Lt. Tom Davis said. The officers also searched two homes in Valinda and Los Angeles, where they seized about $100,000, two assault rifles, a rifle with a silencer and a semiautomatic pistol.

The street value of the cocaine was estimated to be $12 million.

Police arrested Felipe Padilla Gomez, 42, Rufina Serrano Candeo, 27, Miguel Nagera Rodriguez, 47, and Roberto Roman Landeros, 41, in connection with the drugs. The suspects were booked into Los Angeles County Jail for possession and transportation of cocaine. Bail has been set at $1 million for each suspect.

On Saturday, the investigators followed an unidentified driver from Orange County to the La Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry and then to the other houses in Los Angeles and Valinda, Davis said. The driver of the car was under surveillance as a suspected narcotics dealer, Davis said.

The cocaine was found mostly in the trunks of three cars, including a 1977 Lincoln with a hidden compartment that was electronically controlled, Davis said.