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Three men believed to be Mexican nationals were arrested in the Los Angeles area--two of them at luxury hotels--and about $10 million in cash was seized at a warehouse in Sylmar during raids that began about 10 p.m. Thursday, according to DEA agents. Together, they worked on the five-month investigation they named Operation Black Hawk into NorCal Transportation. They were too well-dressed to operate a warehouse business., Federal agents declined to identify the informant who tipped them, but Curt Hazell, a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles, described him as someone with great instincts for business practices, who knows when he is seeing something about a business like this that is not right.. Now, come 2021, were going to have to redo the same concept. The smugglers then deliver the cocaine to Colombian traffickers in major cities. Read the news release here: https://t.co/BOdi19XyJO #Teamwork @HSISanDiego @DEASANDIEGODiv pic.twitter.com/v68GWLy42O, First published on July 11, 2022 / 9:03 AM. On Thursday, Hazell said, the surveillance team saw a car leave the warehouse, and team members followed it to East Los Angeles, where the driver got out and another man got in. Agents said the confiscated drugs will be inventoried at the warehouse before being taken to a federal facility for safekeeping. DEA CNN More than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine were seized this week after authorities in San Diego. appreciated. CULVER CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- Authorities made one of the largest drug busts in Los Angeles County history recently, seizing meth and cocaine with a street value of nearly $60 million, officials say. Zienter said the drugs apparently entered the United States at El Paso, Tex., probably in hidden compartments in two tractor-trailer rigs the ring was believed to have been using. GILROY, Calif. On August 24, 2010, law enforcement seized what was - at the time- the largest meth bust in the United States. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. They allegedly seized 444 kilograms of cocaine, 157 kilograms of crystal meth, 427 kilograms of marijuana and 300 oxycodone pills. The Riverside Police Department raided Morales' and Ponce's home in Perris, California, on Aug. 17, where they found 46.2 pounds of carfentanil, 8.8 pounds of cocaine, and 2.2 pounds of heroin . With fentanyl in an estimated 40 percent of street drugs, its not a matter of if but when someone you know and love dies from fentanyl, Spitzer said Wednesday. Opioid crisis settlements total over $50 billion. They seemed to be making an awful lot of money. "Synthetic drugs like methamphetamine are highly addictive, dangerous and killing people at alarming rates," said DEA Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Bill Bodner. published to the Salinas Police Department Facebook page, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Just north of L.A. in Antelope Valley, California, officials tracked down, identified and destroyed 70 to 80 outhouses filled with illegal marijuana plots in the open desert. "Because of our great partnerships with other law enforcement agencies, we will continue to disrupt the cartels' flow of drugs into our cities.". That seizure carried an estimated street value of $2.56 million, CBP said. NORCO, Calif. (KABC) -- More than 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine and 66 kilograms of cocaine were found in a massive drug bust in Norco last month, making it the largest seizure of meth for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Los Angeles Division. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The investigation led to search warrants at multiple narcotic stash houses in Moreno Valley and Perris in Riverside County, officials said. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Either they feel awfully secure, or this (loss) isnt that significant to them, said John Zienter, special agent in charge of the DEAs Los Angeles office. In 2020, more than 23,000 Americans died from overdoses involving psychostimulants, primarily meth, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This may be the biggest meth bust in American. These middlemen are responsible for moving drugs through Central America and over the Southwest border into the United States. In the last two months alone, there have been at least seven confirmed mass overdose events tied to fentanyl across the U.S. resulting in 58 overdoses and 29 deaths, the agency said. Authorities seized . The one-story warehouse is located in an industrial park in Sylmar, a developing district on the northern edge of Los Angeles. 6:23 AM EDT, Sat July 9, 2022. Atty. "This massive seizure likely saved lives and prevented the Sinaloa Cartel from doing business and profiting on the lives of people in our communities.". 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The coke you can replace.. They said they were dealing in paintings, velvet paintings, said David Barron, owner of the construction business. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Gutensohn said the traffickers maintain control over profitable distribution routes. The Drug Enforcement Administration said the seizure represents about 5% of the worlds annual production of the drug--more cocaine than growers in Peru, the worlds largest supplier, can produce in a month. According to the criminal complaint, on February 13th, the task force got a tip Clayton . Click here for more: http://4.nbcla.com/SV3zVBrDont miss an NBCLA video, subscribe here: https://bit.ly/2NnofFFFor more, visit NBCLA.COM here: https://bit.ly/2uB6niEOn Facebook: https://bit.ly/2uFU1pxOn Twitter: https://bit.ly/2JsBm5YAbout NBCLAThe West Coast flagship station of the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, serving the vast region since 1949. Federal authorities on Wednesday showed off results of Southern California raids early this month that led to the biggest domestic seizure of methamphetamine in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration history. The cash was deposited by federal officials in a downtown bank Friday afternoon. The largest previous seizure in the United states came last Nov. 17, when agents recovered about 4.35 tons of the drug in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Reach her at tori.powell@viacomcbs.com, First published on July 7, 2021 / 8:12 PM. Shortly before 2 p.m., a small force of heavily armed DEA agents--accompanied overhead by two police helicopters--blocked traffic on Main Street while depositing the money at a Bank of America branch. The CBP confirmed that the drug seizures were the largest busts in the U.S. for both meth and fentanyl for this year and last year, prosecutors said. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the impacts of illegal marijuana cultivation by cartels include water theft, human trafficking, pollution and threats to safety and security. 2023 FOX Television Stations, This California city named 'happiest' in America for 3rd-straight year, Tory Lanez sentencing postponed in Megan Thee Stallion shooting, In-N-Out has 2nd-healthiest fast-food cheeseburger in America, study says, PHOTOS: Snow makes spectacular sight across Southern California, Disneyland banned Rebel Wilson over selfie, actress says, At least 5 shot at San Pedro beach, suspect on the run, Landslide in Newport Beach damages several homes, Bass: LA to search for new Animal Services GM, Protesters demand new GM of LA Animal Services, Portion of 5 Freeway dedicated to Tommy Lasorda, LASD must eliminate deputy gangs, special counsel says, 6 stabbed in downtown LA, suspect arrested, Tom Sizemore, 'Saving Private Ryan' Actor, Dies at 61 after suffering brain aneurysm, 'We need help': Stranded Lake Arrowhead residents plead for assistance amid food and medication shortages. Los Angeles, Calmes: Heres what we should do about Marjorie Taylor Greene, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, Randall Emmett, Ambyr Childers settle domestic violence restraining order dispute. That is what's coming.". Saying they feared a possible attempt by drug traffickers to recover their contraband by force, Los Angeles police dispatched a SWAT team to the warehouse to provide extra security after the raids. While California legalized therecreational use of marijuana in 2018, illegal grows of the crop have been on the rise in the state. California Two men arrested in largest drug bust in O.C. The cocaine, believed destined for Los Angeles, was 90 percent pure and of Colombian origin, said Ted Hunter, special agent with the federal Drug Enforcement . The largest DEA domestic seizure of methamphetamine in history is a significant blow to the cartels, but more importantly it is a gigantic victory for communities throughout Southern California and the United States who have had to deal with the torrent of methamphetamine coming into their neighborhoods, Shea said. Federal authorities said contents of the seized packages weighed more than 5,000 pounds, an amount they believe constituted at least one of San Diego County's largest methamphetamine busts in. CALIFORNIA, USA Federal agents announced what they called the largest methamphetamine bust in U.S. history Wednesday, displaying a 10-foot high pile of the confiscated drug representing a haul . 2. There, amid plastic owls, plaster figurines, pinatas and a painting of Christ walking on the water, were boxes containing thousands of one-kilo packages of cocaine, stacked in piles up to eight feet tall. The cocaine was to be held as evidence and then burned, officials said. The Los Angeles-area bust - an estimated $15 million to $20 million in street value - came just days after Mexican authorities seized more than a half a ton of fentanyl in the state of Sinaloa.. More than 200 locations were served with search warrants. Nonetheless, several law enforcement figures, among them Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, said the amount seized was sufficient to affect the cocaine market, at least temporarily. All rights reserved, Authorities: 37 Pounds of Meth Found in Driver's Spare Tire, Second-Largest Border Meth Bust in History Announced, CBP Finds $3.9 Million Worth of Meth, Cocaine in Boulders at Tecate Crossing, Check Your Pockets: These Coins Can Be Worth Up To $24,000, Glendale Neighborhood Frustrated After an Illegal Hostel Moves In, NASA Images Show Southern California Mountains Before and After Winter Storm, Tax Deadlines Extended to October for Most Californians Due to Storms. LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Police and federal agents seized 1,700 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $500 million, three days after a bust netted up to 2,400 pounds of the drug in Tijuana, Mexico, authorities said Saturday. Federal authorities on Wednesday showed off results of Southern California raids early this month that. The nation last year surpassed 100,000 overdoses in a 12-month period for the first time largely due to the drug, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.