Police to Share Seized Drug Money
Members of a combined South Bay and Westside drug enforcement task force will share nearly $9.9 million confiscated in one of the West Coast’s largest seizures of drug-related cash.
The Westside Narcotics Enforcement Team, an El Segundo-based operation made up of 10 police departments, will use the money for computers and other equipment needed for future drug investigations, said Capt. Tim Grimmond, head of L.A. Impact, a countywide crime-fighting task force that includes the Westside team.
Grimmond said the money comes from a $17-million seizure in July, 1990, when police and U.S. Customs agents found 38 boxes stuffed with cash during a raid at a Sylmar home.
Three Colombians were arrested during the raid, and a fourth was arrested later when he was pulled over by police, who found $500,000 in his car. The $9.9 million will be shared by police departments in El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Inglewood, Palos Verdes Estates, Hawthorne, Culver City, Santa Monica and UCLA.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department received nearly $3.6 million of the money, with the majority of the leftover funds going to the federal government.
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