DRUG RAID NETS $69,000 IN CASH

Small Amounts Of Marijuana, Cocaine Found

After making an undercover purchase from a reputed drug house on Pullen
Road last month, officers expected to find narcotics. But they were
surprised at what they found at a recent raid of the four-bedroom apartment
in northwest Tallahassee.

"The amount of drugs is not anything spectacular - two pounds of marijuana
and 46 grams of cocaine," said Sgt. Ernie Stoll of the Tallahassee Police
Department Narcotics Unit. "The difference is that we found $69,000 in cash
sealed in plastic and ready to go. (The money) was in vacuum-sealed bags,
about $8,000 to $10,000 apiece in a bedroom and in a car outside."

Police conducted the raid after getting a tip last month from a citizen and
after undercover officers bought drugs from the apartment.

A .45-caliber handgun with a bogus serial number also was found in the
apartment, as were nine cell phones. Officers from the Tallahassee police,
the Leon County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement were involved in the investigation.

A Dodge Neon and a Ford Taurus, with a combined value of about $17,000,
also were found outside the apartment during the Thursday evening raid,
said Stoll. One pill of Ecstasy was also found. The marijuana has a street
value of about $2,000, and the cocaine has a similar value, he said.

Five Tallahassee men were arrested for charges including operating a drug
house and selling cocaine and marijuana. They are Steve Sarafin, 22;
Christopher Perier, 21; Mantinez Antenor, 24; Jean Paret, 22; and Michael
Vielot, 22, police spokesman Stewart Clendinen said. They were taken to the
Leon County Jail. It is not clear which men lived in the apartment in the
1300 block of Pullen Road at a complex where many college students reside,
Stoll said.

"We've had busts with 30 to 40 pounds of marijuana and several kilos of
cocaine," he said. "But with this much money and the small amount of
product ... most of it had already been sold."

The men are from South Florida and have lived in Tallahassee about a year,
he said.

"I think these are young guys who wanted to get a foothold into the (drug)
business," he said. "These guys did not seem to be a violent threat. We
also found valuable coins and other things that are pawned to get drugs,
and that's part of the whole problem. The sale of narcotics leads to
burglary and thefts, and violent crimes come out of it."

Investigators plan to present the case to the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration, which would then contact the U.S. Attorney's Office about
pressing federal drug charges.

"We want to find out where they got the drugs from and who else is
involved," Stoll said.