Man Pleads Innocent to Leading Drug Cartel
The reputed successor to the “king” of the Bolivian cocaine trade pleaded innocent Friday to charges in an 18-count indictment alleging that he led a drug cartel.
Jose Roca Suarez, 38, pleaded innocent in U.S. District Court in San Diego. The indictment accuses him of orchestrating a major cocaine-trafficking network that resorted to kidnapings, beatings and murder to forward its drug trade.
Roca was arrested Dec. 15 at his home in San Marino. His wife, Cirila Roca, 38, and two sisters also were taken into custody. The indictment charges Roca and 19 other defendants with carrying out a conspiracy to manufacture and sell tons of cocaine.
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