Former MLB Pitcher Arrested for Intent to Sell Cocaine in US

Former All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Esteban Loaiza, was found with 20 kilos of cocaine and heroin in his San Diego home, says the county sheriff office.

RELATED: 
Kim Jong-un Invites South Korean President to Pyongyang

Sheriffs arrested Loaiza, who had his best run with the White Sox 15 years ago, at his home upon their discovery of the drugs accusing the former Major League Baseball (MLB) player of “intent to sell” the illicit substances that amount to approximately a half a million dollars.

San Diego County (SDC) officials searched Loaiza’s home under a warrant that they obtained believing the 46-year-old was “involved in the smuggling of narcotics.”

County officials had pulled over Loaiza for a minor traffic infraction just days before his arrest. What they found in his vehicle was “a sophisticated aftermarket compartment used to conceal contraband," said SDC authorities. At that point, the sheriff's office placed the formed famed pitcher on an “ongoing narcotics investigation."

John Boggs, Loaiza’s agent, tells the San Francisco Chronicle, “I am shocked and saddened by the news and had no indication he would ever be in this type of situation.”

Boggs added in a text to the newspaper, “I don’t know how he would get himself involved in this, so it’s difficult to even comment on it.”

The once MLB pitcher is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday on a felony charge. He’s currently being held on a $US200,000 bond.

This isn’t Loaiza’s first arrest. In 2006 he was charged with speeding while driving under the influence in his Ferrari in California.

At the end of his 14-year career in 2008 Loaiza had earned around $US 40 million having pitched for the White Sox, Pirates, Blue Jays, Yankees, Dodgers, A’s and Rangers among other teams. He was the second most winningest MLB pitcher from Mexico.