Agents Seize 150 Pounds Of Cocaine, Arrest Four Men

Authorities seized nearly 150 pounds of cocaine, arrested four men and were seeking a fifth in what they say appears to be a major cocaine pipeline stretching from southwestern Texas to the Yakima Valley.

The cocaine was found hidden in a 1994 Chevrolet Blazer that was searched by federal agents at an agricultural checkpoint station at Blythe, Calif., court documents show. The shipment allegedly was bound for Yakima, said Jim White, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in Yakima.

Being held without bail at the Yakima County jail on federal drug-trafficking charges were Ramon Alarcon and Hector HernandezFuentes, both of Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas; Teodelo Cisneros-Segura of Toppenish; and Jesse Trujillo of Mabton. Their ages were unavailable.

All four made initial appearances Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Yakima. A fifth suspect still was being sought, White said. Each faces a charge of conspiring to distribute cocaine.

“It’s a major seizure … but that’s about all I can say because it’s still under investigation,” White said.