5 Arrested in 3-Day Sweep That Nets 718 Pounds of Cocaine, $1.1 Million

Investigators have seized 718 pounds of cocaine and $1.1 million in cash in a three-day sweep in which five people were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering, Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates said Friday.

The arrests, which began Wednesday evening and ended early Friday, were the culmination of two separate investigations in Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties, Gates said. Displayed at his news conference were bundles of the cash and plastic one-kilogram packages of cocaine, with a total estimated street value of $60 million.

Gates described the two drug rings “as very big operations.”

This was the third major seizure in recent months of cocaine and cash by the Orange County Regional Narcotic Suppression Program, a team of federal, state, county and city law enforcement agencies formed earlier this year. Since May, the team has seized $4.4 million in cash and 2,018 pounds of cocaine, Gates said.

In the latest arrests, three Mexican nationals were booked on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale, and bail was set at $10 million each, Gates said. In custody at the Orange County Jail were Manuel Tirado, 24; his wife, Maria Tirado, 24, and Heriberto Beltran, 33.

Two Colombian nationals--Jose Hernando Correa, 35, and Richard Molina, 28--were arrested in the second investigation and also are in the Orange County Jail, Gates said. The two, held in lieu of $2 million bail each, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to launder money derived from criminal activity and conspiracy to possess cocaine for sale.

Gates said investigators, acting on a tip, watched a group of suspected drug dealers for a week before searching an Ontario apartment. In that search, authorities discovered ledgers filled with names and dates, $200,000 in cash, a semi-automatic assault rifle, a handgun and narcotics packaging material, Gates said.

This information led to three other searches--one in Ontario and one of a Chino residence, where Beltran was arrested. A third search, at a Rialto residence where the Tirados were arrested, uncovered 718 pounds of cocaine, Gates said.

The Colombians were arrested after a two-week surveillance of Correa, Gates said. He declined to say why authorities suspected Correa of wrongdoing. Thursday evening, narcotics officers saw Correa hand Molina a heavy bag, Gates said, and arrested them.

They were carrying a bag stuffed with money, and a later search at a home owned by Correa in Mission Viejo turned up more money and ledgers, Gates said. In all, about $900,000 was seized from the Colombians, he said.