Narcotics investigators allege that drug delivery service was operating

Thousand Oaks police investigators from the East County Narcotics Street Team have arrested a man they allege was a drug dealer operating a cocaine delivery service in Thousand Oaks.

At 5 p.m. on Oct. 14, Omar Santos, 23, was arrested in a parking lot at Moorpark Road and Hillcrest Drive and charged with selling cocaine from his blue Ford Focus. Police allegedly found 28 grams of cocaine, with a street value of about $1,400, in his car.

Drug dealers who use a delivery service method wait for their cellphones to ring and then drive to a parking lot outside a store or to a residence to exchange the drug for cash, said Thousand Oaks Police Sgt. Robert Thomas.

"They want to avoid the constant traffic that comes from selling drugs at their home and looks suspicious," Thomas said.

Anyone who notices two individuals who have a quick meeting, under a minute, in a public parking lot where something is exchanged, should get a license plate number and call the police.

"A license plate number is very helpful, but we don't want them to get involved because sometimes drug dealers have guns," Thomas said.

No weapons were found on Santos, he said.

After his arrest, investigators obtained a search warrant and went to Santos' home in the 900 block of Avenida de Las Flores, where they said they found an additional 18 grams of cocaine and more than $10,000 in cash. The cash was wrapped in a rag and set behind a trash can outside, Thomas said.

Hellen Vanessa Sanchez, 26, was arrested and charged as an accessory to the cocaine sales. Police alleged that she hid the cash and was living in the home where the illegal narcotics were found.

Santos and Sanchez were taken to the Ventura County Main Jail, at 800 S. Victoria Ave. in Ventura.