$6.9 Million Seized in Drug Raid Believed Tops in State

A June raid on a house in Walnut used by suspected cocaine dealers netted $6.9 million in cash, reportedly the largest sum ever seized from one place in California, authorities said Tuesday.

“It’s big for anywhere,” said West Covina Police Chief Craig Meacham, whose department worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles Police Department and county Sheriff’s Department.

It was the third-largest amount of money seized this year in the country, behind $7.8 million seized in New York and $7.6 million taken in Reno, said DEA spokesman Ralph Lochridge. He said he could not recall a drug raid in California where more cash was seized.

The rented house in Walnut is believed to have been used in laundering drug profits, processing upward of $1 million a day, Lochridge said.

“There aren’t too many Fortune 500 companies that generate $1 million a day in net proceeds,” Lochridge said.

The seizure was kept secret until this week because of several related investigations that were pending, said West Covina Police Cmdr. John Distelrath.

The house was part of a suspected cocaine supply network broken up by authorities in July. Following an informant’s tip, West Covina officers began surveillance on residents in the house in the 800 block of Lorrie Avenue, Distelrath said. Walnut does not have its own police force. No drugs were found at the house.

Arrested at the house were Carlos Elias Bonilla, 45; Enise Prios, 18; Maria Lucelly Ossa, 22, and Ivan Patino, 40. The suspects, all Colombian nationals, were released from West Covina Jail after posting $100,000 bond each.

To Share in Cash

Under federal drug forfeiture laws, West Covina and the Sheriff’s Department are entitled to part of the money. West Covina police said they will receive 25%, or about $1.7 million. A spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department said he did not know how much money the county will receive.

The money must be used for law enforcement purposes. West Covina, which has aggressively pursued lucrative joint investigations with federal authorities, has received $2.8 million since 1985.