The Region : $100 Million in Cocaine Seized in Raids

The gangland-style killing of a drug-dealing suspect in Glendale last July touched off an investigation that led this week to the arrest of 17 people and the seizure of 812 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of more than $100 million, Glendale police said. The smashing of the drug ring that police say operated throughout Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties was the latest evidence of a huge surge in cocaine dealing in Southern California. The 17 defendants, ranging in age from 20 to 48 and most of them Colombian nationals, live in Glendale, Pasadena, Montclair, Los Angeles, Sunland, Sun Valley, North Hollywood and South Gate. All the suspects are being held in the Glendale Jail on various cocaine charges. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles Municipal Court today.