LAKE FOREST PARK — In the largest cocaine seizure in Lake Forest Park police history, a 33-year-old Yakima man was indicted June 11 by a federal grand jury on five counts of cocaine possession and trafficking.
Luis Morales Vasquez was arrested after Lake Forest Park police found approximately $172,000 worth of cocaine and $3,700 in cash in a secret compartment of his car, on Ballinger Way on May 12.
According to U.S. Attorney’s Office documents, a confidential informant was used to purchase cocaine from Vasquez. Vasquez drove to a parking lot on Ballinger Way at about 4 p.m. The informant got into the car and purchased a large quantity of cocaine with $300 of marked money.
With the aid of Lynnwood and Bothell police, seven Lake Forest Park police officers and the King County K-9 unit converged on the suspect and took him into custody without incident, police said.
The vehicle was searched by police and a police dog. A secret compartment was located, activated through a complex series of electrical circuits, police said.
Police found several different colored packages and cash. The vehicle, money and cocaine were all seized.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency assisted in filing federal charges and a federal grand jury handed down five indictments involving the possession and delivery of cocaine.
“This was a great example of great work by police originating right off of patrol,” said Lake Forest Park police chief Dennis Peterson.
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