Santa Ana : $1 Million in Cocaine Seized; 6 Men Arrested

Six suspects were in custody Friday after local narcotics officers and federal agents seized an estimated $1 million worth of cocaine during an undercover drug purchase in Santa Ana.

Investigators kept the six men, all residents of Los Angeles and Riverside counties, under surveillance for more than two weeks before they met them Thursday afternoon to buy the drugs, said Lt. Mike Mitchell, watch commander for the Santa Ana Police Department.

Once the undercover officers confirmed that the suspects had cocaine, they called in Santa Ana officers and agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to help in the arrests, Mitchell said.

Two of the suspects fled in a vehicle, Mitchell said, but were captured after a short chase. One of them carried a handgun, but no shots were fired.

Authorities recovered 10 kilograms “of high-grade Colombian cocaine,” Mitchell said, estimating the drug’s street value at more than $1 million.

The six were booked into County Jail and bail was set at $1 million each.

Those arrested were Pablo Vargas, 27, of Riverside; Fausto Garcia Navarro, 44, of Montebello; James Louis Adams, 27, Harbor City; Nick Romano Loving, 36, Long Beach; Rodrigo Escobar, 28, El Monte, and Fred Ruiz Montoya, 48, San Pedro.