Police Seize 950 Pounds of Cocaine From Van, Arrest 11 Colombians

After stopping a van in Huntington Beach loaded with 950 pounds of cocaine, police arrested 11 Colombians and recovered nearly $103,000 in cash in Orange and Los Angeles counties in one of the largest drug seizures ever in Southern California, police officials said Tuesday.

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said the suspects in the cocaine case were “top-level people” in the distribution of drugs shipped into the Southland from overseas, probably through Mexico. He said a major share of the cocaine confiscated probably had been destined for transshipment to other cities across the United States.

In addition to the cocaine found in the van, which was stopped at a Huntington Beach shopping center on Beach Boulevard near the San Diego Freeway, another 220 pounds were found and one suspect was arrested at a Westminster home in the 15900 block of Prince Circle. In all, almost 1,200 pounds of cocaine were seized, authorities said.

Gates said the cocaine arrests late Monday ended a two-month investigation by narcotics officers that began as the result of information received by detectives. He did not explain how this information was received.

Police in Huntington Beach and Westminster said their roles in the investigation and subsequent arrests and seizure were minimal. In both cases, Los Angeles police telephoned the local departments and informed them of Monday night’s surveillance operation.

On Monday, the chief said, undercover officers followed Claudio Martinez, 26, to the Pavillion Shopping Center in Westminster, where he met with Luis Monsalve, 22, and Juan Casanova, 34. Officers said they moved in and arrested the three, confiscating about 950 pounds of cocaine from the van driven by Martinez.

Following these arrests, Gates said, search warrants were issued for residences in Burbank, Los Angeles, Pico Rivera, Westminster, Huntington Beach and Torrance. Besides the 220 pounds of cocaine found at the Prince Circle home in Westminster, police discovered $102,895 in $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills at a home in Torrance. Eight motor vehicles were impounded.

Flor Restrepo, 30, and her sister, Luz Restrepo, 33--described by Gates as the leaders of the gang--were arrested at an apartment in the Cahuenga Pass area in Los Angeles, along with Carlos Montoya, 32, and a 16-year-old girl.

Faber Restrepo, 26, was arrested at an apartment in Burbank and Olga Garcia, 32, was arrested at a home in Huntington Beach. Arolino Montoya, 37, was arrested at an apartment in Pico Rivera and Janeth Garcia, 30, was arrested as she drove away from her home in Westminster.

The Westminster arrest surprised neighbors, who said the homeowners recently moved to Lake Elsinore and rented out the house.

“We haven’t seen a lot of cars around here or anything,” said one neighbor who did not wish to be identified. “This is a clean neighborhood, we haven’t drugs or anything like that around here. But we’re glad the police arrested them.”

In Huntington Beach, where another suspect was arrested in the 8100 block of Marseille Avenue, the former homeowner said she and her family moved out a week and a half ago.

They sold the home to Connie Castillo and her husband, who buy homes and then rent them. Castillo said she rented the home to two Spanish-speaking women who had answered an advertisement in a Santa Ana newspaper.

‘You Can’t Go Too Deep’

“I’m shocked,” Castillo said. “We painted the house and rented it. You know, nowadays, you can’t go too deep about someone’s personal life and their background.”

All the suspects were booked on suspicion of possession of cocaine with intent to sell. Bail for each was set at $1.5 million.

Gates said no further arrests are expected in the case.

The arrests were followed by an unrelated raid during which two men were taken into custody and more than 200 marijuana plants were confiscated at what investigators described as a sophisticated, hydroponic farming operation at a luxury home in San Dimas.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy George Ducoulombier said officers from the state Bureau of Narcotics and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, plus a task force of 11 San Gabriel Valley police agencies, joined deputies Tuesday morning to raid the $2-million, hilltop home where the marijuana was being grown without soil in tanks containing nutrient-enriched water.

Ducoulombier said that, in addition to the marijuana plants, some of which were 5 to 6 feet tall, officers confiscated $350,000 in cash and more than 60 pistols, rifles and shotguns.

Rollin Scott Forteville, 38, and Jeff Jenkins, 26, were arrested at the home and booked on suspicion of marijuana cultivation. Bail for each was set at $1 million.

The cocaine seizure by Los Angeles police apparently was the sixth largest by the department or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Record Cocaine Seizure

In August, 1987, Los Angeles police confiscated 2,135 pounds of the drug at two locations in the San Fernando Valley in what is believed to be the record drug bust in the area. It came just five months after the Police Department seized 1,900 pounds in another raid in Los Angeles.

About 1,800 pounds of the drug were seized in Anaheim by Los Angeles police in April, 1986, and 1,760 pounds of cocaine were confiscated by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in a home in Maywood in November, 1987. Los Angeles police recovered 1,333 pounds of cocaine in a North Hollywood parking lot in December, 1986.