San Jose police confiscate nearly $1 million worth of street drugs in bust

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police have arrested two people for possession of illegal drugs, firearms and thousands of dollars in cash. Police estimate the drugs they possessed have a street value of nearly a million dollars. 

Police say these street drugs have been associated with multiple overdose deaths and the D.A.’s Office says getting them off the streets is one of their top priorities. 

"On July 14 at around 10:30 p.m., our Western Division patrol officers arrested two suspects for drug trafficking and possession of illegal weapons after a month’s-long investigation," said Stacie Shih, Public Information Officer for San Jose Police Dept. 

After noticing a rise in drug activity on the west side of San Jose, patrol officers say they spent a month trying to track down those involved. Officers searched a home on Rubino Drive and then arrested 24-year-old Omar Box and 19-year-old Laneyia Santos, both from San Jose. 

"They conducted a search warrant and seized 20,000 Adderall pills, 1,000 fentanyl pills, three pounds of weed, 40 grams of cocaine, and three ounces of methamphetamine. Along with that there were three illegal firearms. One was privately made, and the other two were unregistered," Shih said.  

Police say they also confiscated $12,000 in cash and the drugs have a street value of nearly one million dollars. They also say drugs like fentanyl are associated with the rise in recent drug overdose deaths in Santa Clara County. 

"Given the number of pills that were seized, if you want to think about it a different way, that’s the number of lives that were potential saved by taking fentanyl pills especially, off the streets," said Edward Liang, Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy D.A.  

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In the month of May, the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Dept. reported fentanyl-related deaths rose from 17 to 41 from the month before. As Supervising Deputy D.A. for Santa Clara County, Edward Liang says drug bust like this one are just one step in law enforcement’s efforts to keep people safe. 

"The substantial likelihood of someone dying from taking a fentanyl pill, is a risk that we’re unwilling to take. I think for the people who have lost family members, especially their children to a fentanyl pill, I think the pain of that is something we want to prevent from other members of our community," Liang said.  

Both Box and Santos are facing multiple drug and weapons related charges. Bail was set at $5 million.