5 Suspects, $4 Million in Cocaine Netted

SOUTH GATE — Five men are each being held on $2 million bail at the federal prison on Terminal Island after drug raids in South Gate, Montebello and South El Monte netted 43 kilograms of cocaine worth $4 million.

The FBI and the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement also seized $60,000 and two pistols during the Dec. 9 raids, said Tom Wadkins, a special agent supervisor with the bureau. The South Gate, Montebello, Santa Ana and Fountain Valley police departments also were involved in the arrests, Wadkins said.

The arrests concluded a five-month investigation into a drug ring that authorities say distributed as much as a ton of cocaine in the Southeast and surrounding areas every six months.

The five men were arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles last week, Wadkins said. They have been charged with sales and transportation of cocaine, and are expected to stand trial in March, Wadkins said.

The five are identified as: Eduardo Parra Rochin, 29, of South Gate; Olegario Uriarte Equerra, 37, of Huntington Park; Salamone Guzman, 50, of Downey; Jose Vasquez-Granados, 43, of Pico Rivera; and Conrado Villanueva, 51, of El Monte.