Pubdate: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 Source: Alameda Times-Star (CA) Copyright: 1999 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers Contact: 66 Jack London Sq. Oakland, CA 94607 Website: http://www.newschoice.com/newspapers/alameda/times/ Author: Ben Charny, Staff Writer 3 ARRAIGNED IN OAKLAND DRUG CASE Suspected Major Ring Members Face Possibility Of Life In Prison OAKLAND - More than 110 pounds of cocaine and $805,000 in cash were seized during a joint federal and state investigation that authorities said toppled a major drug ring supplying cocaine to an army of Oakland street dealers. Three Oakland men - convicted drug dealer Lee Andrew Cain, 34, Javier Martinez (who also has been convicted of drug charges) and Orlando Calvin - were arraigned Friday on drug conspiracy charges. If convicted, all could face life in prison. Also in U.S. District Court on Friday was Martin Lorenzo Burgos. Members of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Oakland Police Department believe Burgos, an Oakland resident, headed the ring that was selling multiple kilograms of cocaine at a time. Burgos was arrested in late November inside a Pacifica house. Agents said he had cocaine powder on his arms as he walked out of the house. Taken into custody along with Burgos was Angel Reyes Miranda - a k a "Julio" - who was with Burgos inside the house. All five men have been accused of conspiring to sell large amounts of cocaine between March and November. Sources said Burgos and Miranda got shipments of the drug, then gave them to Cain, Martinez and Calvin to distribute in the Oakland area. The group used numeric pager codes and fake names to communicate with each other and handled business in cash to avoid any scrutiny, according to court records. The group possessed large amounts of cash, including $704,624, that authorities believe one of Burgos' lieutenants possessed on Highway 99 near Madera, according to the indictment. Prosecutors seized $45,000 in cash at an Oakland house where Cain apparently lived. More than 33 kilograms of cocaine was seized in early November from a Pacifica house in which Miranda apparently lived, records show. Sixteen kilograms were seized while being transported from Pacifica to Oakland, according to court records. Along with cocaine, agents seized 56 empty wrappers used to package the drugs, scales, a hydraulically operated metal press, a money counter and three pistols from the Pacifica house. Alameda County Unified Superior Court records show Cain has at least two drug convictions, the most recent was 1992, when he allegedly teamed with another man to provide "large amounts of illicit drugs" to the Alameda County area, records show. He received a nine-month jail term. Cain was also convicted in 1987 after he possessed a quantity of cocaine. Initially, he was in a program that delayed prosecution if he kept out of trouble. But he didn't, was arrested again for drug dealing a few months later and was sentenced to three years probation and four months of county jail. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D