Reputed Bolivian Drug Kingpin Held Without Bail

A Los Angeles federal magistrate on Friday ordered reputed Bolivian drug kingpin Jorge Roca Suarez held without bail pending trial on charges accusing him of money-laundering, tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy to export millions of dollars of U.S. currency that were the profits of a cocaine trafficking.

U.S. Magistrate Volney V. Brown Jr. said that Roca Suarez, 38, should be denied bail because he was likely to flee. In addition to 12 counts pending against him in Los Angeles, Roca also faces 18 felony charges in San Diego federal court, including accusations that he ran a continuing criminal enterprise, a charge that carries a mandatory life sentence. Roca, who lives in San Marino, was arrested last week, along with his wife and several other family members allegedly involved in the drug and money-laundering ring.

Roca’s sister, Beatriz Roca Torres, also was ordered held without bail.