SANTA ANA, Calif.—Two men were behind bars Wednesday on charges related to what Orange County authorities say was one of the largest drug busts in the past 16 years.
Edgar Alfonso Lamaslopez, 36, and Carlos Raygozaparedes, 53, were charged March 21 with multiple felonies, and the pair pleaded not guilty that same day. They are next due in court May 16 in the North Justice Center in Fullerton for a pretrial hearing.
The two were being held in lieu of $5 million bail.
Lamaslopez’s attorney, Wilo Nunez, said it amounted to “no bail.” Nunez said his client is “presumed innocent” and that he has just received the evidence in the case from prosecutors and would reserve further comment until later when he has had a chance to review it.
Buena Park police recovered 821 pounds of methamphetamine, 189.7 pounds of cocaine and 20.5 pounds of fentanyl pills in a traffic stop of a minivan on March 17, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Lamaslopez and Raygozaparedes are charged with three felony counts each of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell and sale or transport of a controlled substance, and they face sentencing enhancements for substances exceeding 80 kilograms by weight and 20 kilograms by weight or 400 liters by liquid volume.
They face up to 37 years and four months in prison if convicted at trial.
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