Former major league pitcher Esteban Loaiza was arrested Friday on felony drug charges after deputies searched an Imperial Beach home he's renting and discovered more than 44 pounds of suspected cocaine.
The 46-year-old was being held in the South Bay Detention facility on $200,000 bail on suspicion of possessing and transporting narcotics for sale and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
The market value of 44 pounds of cocaine is about $500,000, said sheriff's Lt. Jason Vickery.
Vickery said deputies used to test substances they believed were illicit drugs in the field but they now wait for a laboratory to test it because of concerns about handling fentanyl, a synthetic opioid so powerful that even a tiny amount can be fatal.
Loaiza was arrested by members of the sheriff's border crime suppression team who were conducting surveillance in Imperial Beach as part of a narcotic investigation. He was pulled over for a minor traffic violation after he was spotted driving a 2010 Mercedes 450 believed involved in a smuggling operation, Vickery said.
Vickery said when deputies searched the car, they noticed a "sophisticated aftermarket" hidden compartment in his vehicle believed used to conceal contraband. That provide enough probable cause for officers to seek a search warrant to take a look in his home, which he leased in early February.
Loaiza, who was born in Tijuana and attended Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, pitched for 14 seasons for nine major league teams, racking up a 126-114 record. He last played in 2008 with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Loaiza was a two-time All Star and finished second in the AL Cy Young award voting in 2003. He made just over $43.7 million in his major league career, according to the website baseball-reference.com.
After graduating high school, Loaiza signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent. He was married to singer Jenni Rivera but the couple filed for divorce in October 2012. Two months later, she died in a plane crash in northern Mexico.
