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Friday, Oct. 23, 2009
Two arrested after investigation turns up $400,000 in cocaine, meth
MODESTO — Two suspects were taken into custody on drug charges Wednesday, after Merced County sheriff's deputies and U.S. Marshals reported finding nearly $400,000 worth of cocaine and methamphetamine.
The bust, which happened at a home in the 3000 block of Jarena Drive in Modesto, stemmed from a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigation spanning several counties, including Merced, according to Deputy Tom MacKenzie, sheriff’s spokesman.
Investigators with the sheriff's STAR Team and U.S. Marshals were conducting surveillance on the residence around 11 a.m. when Modesto residents Rosendo Barragan Barraga, 53, and Norma Alicia Barragan, 47, were seen driving away in a late ’90s model Toyota Camry.
Investigators made a vehicle stop a few blocks away and took Barraga into custody on an outstanding federal narcotics warrant, MacKenzie said.
Inside the home, investigators found seven kilograms of cocaine in the attic and five kilograms of cocaine in an air filter vent, in addition to a pound of methamphetamine. Investigators also discovered a .22-caliber Magnum Derringer handgun and a large sum of cash, MacKenzie said, along with packaging materials and equipment used to sell illegal drugs.
Barraga was turned over to U.S. Marshals for the federal warrant, while Barragan was booked into Stanislaus County Jail on suspicion of possession for sale of methamphetamine and cocaine. She’s being held in lieu $50,000 bail.
The cocaine had a street value of $360,000, while the meth was valued at $20,000, MacKenzie said.
Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.
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