Drug Investigation Ends With 4 Arrests, Big Seizure in Lake Forest
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LOS ANGELES — A drug investigation ended with four arrests and the seizure of 474 pounds of Colombian cocaine in the parking lot of an Orange County fast-food restaurant, authorities said Monday.
The weekend arrests were the result of a one-month investigation, said Ralph B. Lochridge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, which worked with the Los Angeles Police Department’s narcotics group on the case.
The “DEA suspects that in addition to distributing cocaine in Los Angeles, this organization was transporting cocaine for distribution to the East Coast,” Lochridge said.
The arrests and the seizure occurred Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of a restaurant in Lake Forest.
The cocaine has a street value of $21.5 million, Lochridge said.
Four Colombians were arrested: Luis G. Emidio, 25, Jorge Ramirez, 40, Pedro P. Flores, 44, and Marco A. Rojas, 32. Each is in custody on $10-million bail, Lochridge said, charged under state law with one count of possessing cocaine for sale.
No shots were fired and no weapons were seized during the arrests, Lochridge said.
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