West Valley business owner arrested for selling drugs

West Valley business owner arrested for selling drugs


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Courtney Orton and Andrew Adams reporting The owner of two West Valley City businesses paid a visit to jail for what he was selling. Police say he sold perfume, DVDs and cocaine.

Police think it must have been quite a side business because they found a lot of cash and a lot of cocaine when they searched inside the two stores, Los 2 Gallos and Tropical Ritmo.

"Our detectives gathered information from investigations they conducted here in the city that led them to this business," said Detective Jared Wihongi, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department.

West Valley business owner arrested for selling drugs

Salt Lake City narcotics officers and West Valley City police obtained a search warrant and found nine grams of cocaine in addition to $30,000 in cash and firearms. Officers believe the 36-year-old owner, Marco Antonio Vargas-Perez, was running a pretty big drug selling operation out of his stores.

Police also believe the stores--which sell anything from DVDs to sombreros--were just a cover-up for the drug business. They say they are very happy to have shut it down. "We do have a feeling that there was quite a bit of cocaine being dealt by this individual. How much it's going to make in the entire market we're unsure, but it's definitely going to make a mark," Wihongi said.

West Valley business owner arrested for selling drugs

Vargas-Perez was arrested for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a restricted person.

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