Saginaw Police Chief Gerald Cliff stood in front of a table holding more than 500 pounds of marijuana, cocaine, a gun and about $14,000 today as he announced the city’s largest drug bust in history.
"The street value is estimated, at this time, to be slightly more than $500,000," said Cliff.
His department, the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, and the mid-Michigan Safe Street Task Force worked together to make the bust possible.
Right now, two Saginaw men, 35-year-old Daniel Marin and 34-year-old Benjamin Alcala, are being held in the Saginaw County Jail on $1-million bond. The police chief says they’re charged with possession with intent to deliver.
The police chief says investigators busted the two men as they unloaded much of the marijuana seized during the investigation from a moving van into a storage facility.
The DEA and the FBI are now working to find the original source of the drugs. It is believed to have been delivered to Saginaw from southern Texas.
Cliff said a massive amount of drugs are now off the streets thanks to tips from the public that led to this investigation.
"This is the result of a citizen taking back his or her neighborhood," Cliff said. “They've decided they’re taking back their streets, working with the police department and this is the result."
Police say this bust will bring in funding for the city to continue the war on drugs. Police also seized a classic car, an SUV and a house.
