GLENDALE : Cocaine Seized, 4 Suspects Arrested

Police on Monday announced they had seized 73 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $2.6 million--some of it wrapped as Christmas presents--and arrested four suspects.

Booked on suspicion of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute were Anderson Castaneda, 35, of Glendale; Gabriel Garcia, 28, of Bell Gardens; and Juan Alcaraz, 22, and George Trevino, 26, both of Huntington Park, according to Glendale Police spokesman Sgt. Lief Nicolaisen.

All are scheduled to be arraigned today in Glendale Municipal Court, Nicolaisen said.

He said that Castaneda had been under police surveillance for “behavior consistent with someone doing narcotic deals. Ironically, he lives pretty close to the police station. You can throw a rock from his apartment to the station.”

Police obtained a warrant to search Castaneda’s apartment on North Isabel Street on Friday. There officers found 51 pounds of cocaine and $200,000 in cash, some of which was also wrapped as Christmas presents.

Police said plastic bags holding the cocaine smelled of diesel fuel, leading them to believe that the drugs were smuggled into the area in fuel tanks.

After Castaneda’s arrest, police went to a home in the 6000 block of Gage Avenue in Bell Gardens, where another 22 pounds of cocaine was found and three men were arrested. All four suspects were arrested without incident, Nicolaisen said.