Cocaine seizure Valley's largest

Two Southern California men are set to appear in East Fork Justice Court on Monday charged with drug trafficking following what authorities said was the largest cocaine seizure in Carson Valley history.

The men were arrested at a Minden convenience store on Thursday with more than four pounds of cocaine worth $250,000, according to Undersheriff Bob Rudnick.

Juan Carlos Medina, 33, of West Covina, Calif., and Asceacion Ignacio Arias, 30, of Santa Ana, Calif., were jailed in lieu of $250,000 each.

"The cocaine was delivered here for the purpose of sale in the Carson Valley," Rudnick said. "It's a consistent problem here. For most of the people we see in our court system, the drug of choice is methamphetamine, but there still is a serious cocaine problem."

Both men were charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

The trafficking offense is punishable by up to life in prison.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum of five years in prison.

Rudnick said Friday the arrests were the culmination of a two-week investigation conducted by the sheriff's office Street Enforcement Team and the Tri-Net Task Force.

The cocaine was in 2-kilogram packages with a street value of $250,000, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.