3 Arrested In Major Penn Hills Drug Bust
PENN HILLS (KDKA) - Three men are in custody after police found $10.5 million worth of cocaine and as well as other drugs in Penn Hills.
According to police, officers in Monroeville asked for assistance to crack down on drug activity allegedly taking place in some area hotels.
On Tuesday, officers observed Mexican national Saistino Hernandez Rodriguez leaving the Days Inn on Route 48 in Monroeville. Rodriguez had initially lied to police and said his name was David Chavez Carbajal.
Officers followed him to a home in the 300-block of Pinewood Square in Penn Hills.
"They had observed the car, observed some indications they had followed him," Monroeville Police Chief Steven Pascarella said.
Eventually, a search of the home was conducted which uncovered four kilos of cocaine along with $100,000 in cash and a stolen gun.
William Wilson lives at the home and police found four more kilos of cocaine inside
his car. However, there was another car outside of the home, which belonged to Leland Cobb, of Homewood.
Cobb was seen leaving the house with a large bag. Police searched the bag and found another 13 kilos of cocaine.
"Complacency – it's one of those things where you do it enough times and nothing bad happens, you probably get lazy and something bad happens," Chief Pascarella said.
Police also found $600,000 in a secret compartment in one of the vehicles.
- Watch David Highfield's report:
The head of the Pittsburgh field office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Gary Davis says it's unclear if the drugs came from Mexico, but he says most cocaine in our area does come from there.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane says Mexican drug cartels have invaded Pennsylvania.
"They've changed their way of doing business," said Kane. "Their business model is that they've cut out the middle man. So the drugs come from Mexico, either over into Arizona or sometimes Illinois. They're re-packaged and distributed from the mid-western states right over to Pennsylvania."
All three were arrested and are currently being held in the Allegheny County Jail on a list of charges including conspiracy and drug tracking.
- Watch Christine D'Antonio's report:
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