Wrestlemania: January 2010 Archives

West Covina police officers joined a multi-agency task force Friday to seize $1.75 million worth of marijuana and arrest two men, police said.
Enrique Lopez, 28, of Paramount and Paulino Rivera, 18, of Lynwood were arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sales and transporting marijuana, West Covina police said in a written statement. Rivera was also suspected of possessing a concealed handgun.
West Covina police joined the effort, which took place in Lynwood and Paramount, to provide extra manpower at the request of a multi-agency task force, West Covina police Lt. Dave Rozeboom said.
Six West Covina officers, working with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and other agencies that make up the L.A. IMPACT task force, found 3,700 pounds of pot in a car in Lynwood and a Paramount home, West Covina police Lt. David Rozeboom said.
"It is one of the larger amounts that we've seized," he said.
The incident began about 8 p.m. as officials were watching a house at 10845 McNerney Avenue in Lynwood where drug activity was suspected, West Covina police said in a written statement.
Sheriff's deputies spotted Lopez leaving the home and pulled him over for a traffic violation, police said, when they discovered he did not have a valid driver's license and impounded the car.
"During an inventory search," the statement said, "600 pounds of marijuana was located."
"They gained information that led them to the (house)," Rozeboom added.
Police served a search warrant on a house at 6843 San Miguel Ave. in Paramount, police said, where another 3,100 pounds of marijuana was found.
Officials arrested Rivera near the home, who was allegedly was carrying a concealed handgun, Rozeboom said. Two vehicles were seized from the home.
According to sheriff's booking records, Lopez and Rivera were each being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the West Covina Police Department's jail. They were due for arraignment Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court.
Friday was not the first time West Covina police have partnered with other agencies to seize large amounts of marijuana.
In June, West Covina police officers were asked to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs officials to seize 3,500 pounds of marijuana that was concealed in a truck in Montebello.
The shipment, which originated in Mexico, was placed into makeshift boxes that were designed to look like stacks of lumber.

*PHOTO couresy of the West Covina Police Department