$635,000 Worth of Marijuana Seized in Buena Park Bust

In one of Buena Park’s biggest marijuana busts in half a decade, police said they seized $635,000 worth of the drug, as well as several weapons and $60,000 in cash.

Seven people were questioned Tuesday and Wednesday in connection with the bust, officials said, but no names were released while the investigation continued.

“We are looking into the possibility that this is part of a bigger operation,” said Sgt. Ken Coovert, public information officer for the Buena Park Police Department. “Those arrested included people from Haiti, Jamaica and a New York resident.”

The marijuana was wrapped in fabric softener and sprinkled with pepper to hide the odor, Coovert said. The 142 pounds of the drug were found in two vehicles and a house in the 7000 block of 9th Street. It had been elaborately bound up in packaging and labeled to addresses across the nation, he said.

Narcotics detectives had been staking out the house for several hours before they saw a car leaving the premises. When they pulled it over and searched it, they found 76 pounds of marijuana, Coovert said. Police found about 60 pounds in another vehicle that was stopped a short time later.

Detectives then searched the house and found four loaded weapons, including three semiautomatic handguns and an assault rifle with a sawed-off barrel. Several more pounds of marijuana, scales and $60,000 in cash also were found in the house.