Police Raid Nets $5 Million in Illegal Drugs

Nearly $5 million worth of marijuana, cocaine and heroin was discovered in a Bonita home early Thursday by San Diego police narcotics detectives.

Eight detectives, with guns drawn, served a search warrant at a home on a quiet street near Chula Vista Municipal Golf Course shortly after midnight Thursday, Sgt. Garry Evans said. The search was part of an ongoing, one-month investigation, police said.

Detectives arrested a man at the Glen View Place residence after discovering 2,000 pounds of marijuana, 7 pounds of cocaine, and 1 pound of unprocessed tar heroin in the downstairs bedrooms, authorities said.

Oscar Echavarriah, 50, was arrested without incident, Lt. James Caster said. Echavarriah’s daughters, ages 21 and 17-year-old twins, were in the upstairs bedrooms at the time of the arrest, Evans said.

Before the arrest, detectives followed a car loaded with 120 pounds of marijuana from Glen View Place and arrested the driver, Jesus Santana-Zuniga, Caster said.

At the home, marijuana was found wrapped in clear plastic bundles stacked in two bedroom closets behind doors sealed with masking tape, police said.

The cocaine and heroin were found in two combination safes in one of the bedrooms, Evans said.

The initial $5-million estimate is a wholesale value, police said.