Local, State, U.S. Agencies Bust Alleged Heroin Trafficker, Seize Cash

Local, state and federal agents in Santa Cruz County on Thursday arrested a suspected high-level heroin trafficker and an accomplice and seized half a pound of the drug and $193,000 in cash from three homes, officials said.

Martolo “Gordo” Navarro, 36, of Santa Cruz, and Belen Rodriguez, 33 of Castroville, were booked into the county jail on suspicion of possession of heroin for sale and conspiracy to distribute heroin, according to Mario Sulay, commander of the Santa Cruz County Anti Crime Team.

The seizure of the half-pound of heroin in Navarro’s three residences increased the amount of the drug seized so far by the team in the county this year to nearly 4 kilos, more than it has confiscated over the past five years combined, Sulay said. He attributed the large amount to an uptick in the heroin being trafficked through the U.S. border from Mexico, which has grown by 300 percent over previous years, he said.

The increase in the street sale of heroin in general lately, after years of decline, has occurred due to the rise in demand among addicts for prescription painkillers that are more expensive than heroin, which sells for only about $20 per dose of 0.25 of a gram on the street, he said.

On Thursday, agents of the anti-crime team and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency concluded an investigation that lasted several months into alleged drug trafficking by Navarro, team officials said.

At 7 a.m. Thursday, the anti-crime team’s gang and narcotics agents joined the DEA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s Office and Santa Cruz police to serve search warrants at two homes in Santa Cruz and one in the unincorporated area of Castroville, officials said.

The homes, all associated with Navarro, included one in the 200 block of Barson Street, another in the 100 block Park Place in Santa Cruz and a third in the 13000 block of Cielo Azul in Castroville, according to agents.

As a result of the searches, the team seized more than $193,000 in bulk U.S. currency, considered to be the proceeds from heroin sales, and the half-pound of heroin with an estimated street value of $18,000, team officials said.

Navarro was taken into custody at the home on Barson Street and Rodriguez from the Castroville residence, the officials said. No weapons were found in the residences, Sulay said. The cash seized was the second-largest amount recovered by the anti-crime team in its 30-year history, according to Sulay.

The almost 4 kilos confiscated in the first four months of the year by the team, with the crucial assistance of federal, state and local law agencies, is equal to more than 15,000 street dosages of 0.25 of a gram, he said.

The agencies have together also confiscated more than $250,000 in funds from heroin trafficking in that period, he said.

--Bay City News

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