03/24/2007
Illegal admits to buying coke
By: KEITH PHUCAS , Times Herald Staff

NORRISTOWN - Cirilo Lumbrano's alleged drug trafficking operation kept him hopping as he cruised around the borough making cocaine deliveries, sometimes struggling to keep enough inventory on hand to supply his demanding customers, according to an undercover Montgomery County detective who testified at a preliminary hearing Friday.

On March 14, a county law enforcement task force arrested Lumbrano, 37, described as the drug operation's alleged ringleader; Rafael Sanchez, 41; Hugo Juarez-Gonzalez, 29; Luis Omar Bauza, 21; Juan Carlos Fernandez, 39; Gregorio Messina, 41; Julia Asanzan, 20; and Israel Valente Trujillo, 28.
Lumbrano, Sanchez, Juarez-Gonzalez, Asanzan and Trujillo are illegal aliens, according to county authorities. The U.S. Border Patrol twice arrested Juarez-Gonzalez and deported him to Mexico, according to county District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. Federal detainers were lodged against the five illegals.
Trujillo shuffled into District Judge Francis Lawrence Jr.'s court Friday in handcuffs and leg restraints. The other seven co-defendants waived the preliminary hearing.
An undercover investigator detailed how the county's Narcotics Enforcement Team intercepted cell phone conversations, tailed suspects' vehicles and arranged drug buys with confidential informants during the drug probe.
A Spanish-language interpreter seated beside Trujillo translated testimony during the two-hour hearing.
The investigation's climax came March 4 when police stopped Lumbrano's white Nissan Maxima in Plymouth Township as he and Sanchez returned from Atlanta, Ga., with drugs.
While searching the car, police discovered a kilogram of cocaine - about 2 pounds - hidden inside a spare tire. The cocaine, valued at $100,000, was concealed inside scented dryer sheets and wrapped in duct tape.
During the mobile phone conversations, drug customers complained to Lumbrano about the color, consistency and odor of the cocaine - often referred to by the code name "caliente," according to an affidavit of probable cause.
One unknown man talking to Lumbrano asks why the drug he bought had a soap odor. The cocaine dealer explained that the drug was likely concealed in a shipment of soap or something else fragrant.
Another said cocaine he bought previously was "too powdery," according to the affidavit, suggesting the quality was second-rate.
"From my experience, people purchasing drugs would rather have it one solid piece," the detective said.
When drugs were in short supply, Lumbrano reportedly bought narcotics from another dealer on West Airy Street to hold him over.
Investigators also executed a search warrant at Trujillo's Cherry Street home; an address detectives had seen Lumbrano visit on several occasions.
On March 4, Trujillo allegedly admitted to a task force detective that he had bought cocaine from Lumbrano several times. A small amount of the drug was found hidden inside a wall at the house.
Trujillo's defense attorney vigorously challenged detectives testifying at the hearing, suggesting that his client had not been identified a member of the drug ring, dubbed the Cirilo Lumbrano Corrupt Organization.
But county Assistant District Attorney Tonya Lupinacci said Trujillo's drug purchases implicated him in the operation.
"He said he paid $50 two or three times to buy cocaine," Lupinacci said. "That makes him party to the conspiracy."
In fact, buying drugs from Lumbrano helped to perpetuate the illegal enterprise, Lupinacci said.
"By purchasing the product, you're allowing the business to continue," she said.
Besides cocaine recovered from the wall inside Trujillo's home, police also seized cocaine from his wallet and drug paraphernalia.
Also March 4, detectives searched the Markley Street house Lumbrano shared with Asanzan, as well as Norristown residences on West Airy, Powell, West Spruce and Cherry streets and a house in North Wales.
On Friday, bail was reduced from $2 million to $500,000 for seven defendants. Asanzan, Lumbrano's girlfriend, had her bail reduced to $99,000. The defendants were also to be released from maximum security into the general prison population at Montgomery County Correction Facility.

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