Deputies seize $45 million in drugs in Rancho Cucamonga California

Deputies seize $45 million in drugs in Rancho Cucamonga California

Posted on Jun 28, 2010 in Headlines, Smugglers Brew by PMC 2 Comments

Sheriff’s deputies found a tractor trailer packed with $45 million in drugs during a routine traffic stop in Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday.

The bust was one of the largest ever made in San Bernardino County, and included thousands of pounds of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials said.

The sheriff’s Hi-Intensity Criminal Interdiction Unit stopped a big rig on the eastbound 10 Freeway for a traffic violation at 11 a.m.

The driver, Fernando Luevano, 32, of Los Angeles, did not have proper paperwork for his load. He gave deputies permission to search the trailer.

When deputies opened it, they smelled what they described as an “overwhelming odor of marijuana,” officials said in a press release.

The trailer was filled to capacity with large cardboard containers on pallets, holding thousands of heat-sealed packages of drugs.

Deputies seized about 38,000 pounds of marijuana, 2,700 pounds of cocaine and 67 pounds of methamphetamine.

Luevano was arrested and booked into Central Detention Center in San Bernardino on suspicion of possession, transportation and sales of narcotics. He was held in lieu of $5 million bail.

Sheriff’s officials said he is scheduled to be arraigned today in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court.

The sheriff’s narcotics division and the Drug Enforcement Administration are working together on the investigation.

• Trailer had California tags
• Driver is a Mexican American citizen
• Obvious that load did not cross border in trailer

Tags: 45 million drug seizure, DEA, San Bernardino County Sheriff