
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 15, 1995                   TAG: 9503150053
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

MORE COCAINE FOUND IN CALIF. FAMILY'S VAN

Investigators found almost 18 more pounds of cocaine Tuesday in the van where they discovered $4 million worth of the drug the day before, state police said.

A trooper stopped the van Monday afternoon after he saw the driver using a radar detector. Esther Preciado, 59, and her son, David, 35, both of Orange County, Calif. were charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. They were arraigned Tuesday morning in Rockbridge County and received court-appointed attorneys.

As the Preciados were in court, state police continued to search their conversion van, in which cocaine was found hidden in compartments near the gasoline tank and throughout the vehicle.

Tuesday, state police found cocaine stashed in the van's seats, along with a special compartment for cash containing $7,000, according to state police Agent Wayne Oyler.

``Every nook and cranny of this vehicle was filled with cocaine,'' Oyler said.

The Preciados were pulled over as they drove north on Interstate 81 near Natural Bridge about 1:30 p.m. Monday. The trooper then noticed that gasoline was pouring onto the exhaust pipe and that the gas tank had been altered. A drug-detecting dog later indicated that drugs were in the van.

Oyler said the next step for investigators is to find out where the cocaine came from and where it was headed. He said it did not appear that the cocaine was destined for Virginia.

by CNB