By Lookout Staff
March 30 – Santa Monica narcotics agents arrested a heroin dealer known as “Big Mama” and her partner as they waited inside their car to complete the sale of a large amount of black tar heroin at noon Wednesday, police said.
Maria Lucia Fuentes and Jose Giovanni Franco were arrested with the aid of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inside the parking lot of a neighborhood drug store in Inglewood, police said.
Officers and agents seized more than two pounds of black tar heroin worth in excess of $25,000 from the couple, according to Sgt. Robert Almada, who heads Santa Monica’s narcotics unit.
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| Heroin seized from couople Wednesday. |
Fuentes and Franco ran a “prolific” heroin-selling operation that provided a delivery service to their customers in Santa Monica, Venice, and Culver City, police said.
Known as “Mama” to her customers, Fuentes “often wore brightly colored medical scrubs while she personally sold heroin in amounts that ranged from a few grams up to a few pounds,” Almada said.
After the arrest, narcotics investigators executed a search warrant at the couple’s Inglewood home, where they seized more heroin, he said.
Fuentes and Franco were transferred into Federal custody and arraigned Thursday on narcotics trafficking charges.
