4 Arrested in Drug Smuggling Case
Four Colombian nationals suspected of participating in what authorities describe as a highly sophisticated drug smuggling ring will be arraigned today in federal court on charges of smuggling and possession of cocaine.
Three of the men were arrested Saturday at the St. George Motor Inn in Tarzana. They were identified as Luis Fernando Ochoa, 30, of Hollywood; Ivan Ochoa, 38, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Julian Zambrano-Martinez, 54, of Bogota, Colombia.
A fourth man, Hector Julian Ramirez, 20, of Miami, was arrested Friday night when he attempted to recover 177 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $8 million from the hold of a ship docked in the Los Angeles Harbor.
It was not known whether the men, who refused to speak with authorities, are connected to major Colombian drug cartels, federal Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Ralph Lockeridge said Sunday. The men were being held without bail at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.
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