TWO MEXICAN FEDERAL AGENTS CHARGED WITH POSSESSING DRUG MONEY IN WEST COVINA

More Than Half a Million Dollars Believed to Be Related to Narcotics
Trafficking Was Found Wednesday in a Raid on a West Covina Home,
District Attorney's Office Says.

Two Mexican federal agents were charged Friday with possession of
alleged drug money after they were arrested at a West Covina home
with more than $500,000, according to the Los Angeles County district
attorney's office.

Carlos Cedano Filippini, 35, the lead agent from the Mexicali office
of the Agencia Federal de Investigacion, and Victor Manuel Juarez,
36, were arrested Wednesday as part of an ongoing narcotics
investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los
Angeles Police Department.

The suspects were not targets of the investigation, said Sarah
Pullen, a DEA spokeswoman. "We were surprised when we ended up
arresting these two," she said.

Also arrested were Hector Manuel Lopez and Julisa Lopez, who was
identified by Mexican authorities as Cedano's wife.

The agents' arrests are the latest in a series of corruption scandals
and killings involving state federal law enforcement authorities from
Baja California. A week ago, two of Cedano's agents were gunned down
outside a Chinese restaurant in Mexicali in a suspected organized crime hit.

The agency, an investigative body similar to the FBI, plays a key
role in Mexico's drug war but has long been dogged by corruption
accusations. Earlier this year, two agents were arrested in Tijuana
on suspicion of kidnapping.

The head of the federal attorney general's Baja California office was
not available for comment.

A spokesman said the agents were relatively new to the Mexicali office.

The Mexicali area has seen a surge in violence and kidnappings in
recent months, possibly stemming from organized crime groups fleeing
a crackdown in Tijuana, where more than 3,000 Mexican Army soldiers
lead the anti-drug offensive.

The suspects, who face up to four-year prison terms, are being held
on $2 million bail.