Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Because of the number of agencies involved in the case, Cabrera said it took a great deal of coordination, long hours, research and collaboration to get on the same page. A Warner Bros. The pair were also charged with two felony enhancements that the controlled substances exceeded 80 kilograms by weight and two felony enhancements that the controlled substances exceeded 20 kilograms by weight or 400 liters by liquid volume. / CBS News. Colombian drug cartels used to control cocaine shipments from start to finish, employing their own operatives to move the drug from processing plants in the Colombian jungle across the Caribbean and then into the United States. Though it is typically used to treat severe pain, it is also used recreationally. Download for iOS or Android. Record 20 Tons of Cocaine Seized - Los Angeles Times Charles P. Gutensohn, chief of the Drug Enforcement Administrations cocaine investigations section in Washington, said Friday that the Sylmar drug bust appeared to have uncovered a major hand-off point used by Mexican smugglers to deliver cocaine to Colombian distributors, whose networks extend across the United States. Agents seized more than 4,800 pounds of meth nationwide and are still working on more arrests, according to the DEA. Officials declined to say how many more people they were seeking. Discovery Company. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California alleges that agents then saw the men removing dozens of cardboard boxes from the truck and into a Dodge van. While California legalized therecreational use of marijuana in 2018, illegal grows of the crop have been on the rise in the state. DEA Announces Biggest Meth Bust in US History With 10-Foot-High Pile of 20 people charged, $61M worth of drugs seized in largest bust in 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The DEA told FOX 11s Bill Melugin that the COVID-19 pandemic had actually somewhat slowed down the Mexican drug cartels ability to get drugs into SoCal because of increased security at the US border. Four residents of Tijuana, Mexico, face federal drug trafficking charges in connection with a Southern California methamphetamine seizure thatauthorities say was "record-breaking" because of its size. On Oct. 9, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped a truck crossing from Mexico into the United States at San Diego's Otay Mesa and found 3,014 pounds of methamphetamine, the agency said Sunday.. L.A. Affairs: My divorce isnt contagious. or redistributed. As some of the officers secured the warehouse and began itemizing its contents, others fanned out to search for missing suspects, at least some of whom had remained under surveillance. Meth bust at California border crossing is likely largest in U.S 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 history. Its going to bring tears to some peoples eyes, Gates said. The officers who raided the warehouse said that despite the enormous value of the drugs and cash inside, no one had been left to guard the place and the door was secured with a single, $6 padlock. How Alaska became one of fentanyl's deadliest frontiers, FDA panel backs allowing a naloxone spray to be sold over-the-counter, Biden to tout fentanyl smuggling crackdown in State of the Union. 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.. Stranded Lake Arrowhead residents, including Michelle Calkins, are pleading for help on social media as the community continues to run out of food, medication, and deal with gas leak concerns. GILROY, Calif. On August 24, 2010, law enforcement seized what was - at the time- the largest meth bust in the United States. Get your top stories delivered daily! In November, Spitzer warned drug dealers and distributors in the county that they could be charged with murder if their drug activities result in someones death. It paid off for the agencies, and Cabrera said the "outcome was excellent. Two Buena Park men are facing felony charges in connection with what prosecutors are calling the largest drug bust in Orange County in 16 years. Villanueva said that he will share the district attorney's prosecution decision publicly once it's made available. Hazell theorized Friday that when the car was stopped, an alert probably went through the system, and they left. He said the suspects all carried beepers and they all moved on a tight, rigidly controlled schedule. She called on the district attorney to prosecute those arrested in the operation. Ira Reiner said that when the officers entered the warehouse in Sylmar and shined their flashlights about the room, they couldnt believe their eyes.. The fate of NorCal Transportation remains unknown for now, but Cabrera hopes it is shut down. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. More than 170 law enforcement personnel aided in the search warrants and helped in the apprehension of the suspects. $1.19 billion worth of marijuana seized in massive drug bust in California Hayley Smith covers breaking news in California with a focus on wildfires, drought and climate change. California Drug Bust Found Enough Opioids To 'Kill More Than 50 - MSN The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department carried out the largest marijuana bust in its history, after seizing more than 33,000 pounds of the drug with a street value of almost $1.2 billion. pic.twitter.com/y21yWExTT9. At a small office at the front of the building, agents found records indicating that the drugs had come from the infamous Medellin and Cali cartels in Colombia. 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. 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.. Villanueva revealed to Fox News that these locations are hot spots for criminal behavior with reports of cartel members threatening residents with firearms. 6:23 AM EDT, Sat July 9, 2022. RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. - Federal agents announced what they called the largest methamphetamine bust in domestic U.S. history Wednesday, displaying a 10- foot high pile of the confiscated. The investigation led to search warrants being served at narcotics stash houses in the Riverside County cities of Moreno Valley and Perris, east of Los Angeles. 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. "Study after study shows that where there is meth addiction, there is also an uptick in violent crime, including robberies, assaults and murders.". Los Angeles records largest drug bust in sheriff's department history Detectives found that the average size per cultivation at farms increased to 15 greenhouses, up from eight per farm in the year prior. Heavy security was employed Friday afternoon as the seized cash was deposited at a downtown Los Angeles bank. Newsweek previously reported that according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. 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. On Oct. 9, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped a truck crossing from Mexico into the United States at San Diego's Otay Mesa and found 3,014 pounds (1,367.1 kilograms) of methamphetamine, the agency said Sunday. Investigators saw someone carry out three boxes from the home and put them in a vehicle, according to authorities. 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. "Because of our great partnerships with other law enforcement agencies, we will continue to disrupt the cartels' flow of drugs into our cities.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The Otay Mesa, California, Commercial. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The DEA says the drugs were linked to the Sinaloa drug cartel and would have ended up in the hands of addicts on LA streets. That seizure carried an estimated street value of $2.56 million, CBP said. ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- In what Alameda County Sheriff's Office is calling the largest pot bust in Bay Area history, more than 37 tons of plants, tens of millions of dollars in. Record-breaking drug bust made at Mexico border in California, Mexican 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Monterey County Weekly reported that officials seized 60 pounds of methamphetamine, five pounds of heroin, 1.5 pounds of cocaine, 25,000 fentanyl pills and nine firearms. The 10-day sting. The cash was deposited by federal officials in a downtown bank Friday afternoon. I dont know which, but either gives me the shivers.. Law enforcement followed the vehicle to National City, California, where agents saw the accused men unloading dozens of cardboard boxes from the truck into a Dodge van. 5,000 pounds of meth seized in San Diego County when truck is - CNN More than 200 locations were served with search warrants. All rights reserved. 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. "This record-breaking bust is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills DEA has made in California," the news release said. The bundles found in the boxes tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the statement. Employees of a construction business adjacent to the warehouse at 12898 Bradley St. said about four or five Spanish-speaking men--friendly, well-dressed, clean-cut and well mannered--rented the place about two years ago and began doing business. The coke you can replace.. He said the arrest went according to plan and no injuries were sustained by officers or alleged suspects. 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. ET: This story has been updated with statements from Salinas Police Departmen press information officer Miguel Cabrera and Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is as much as 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which on Wednesday released a letter warning state and federal law enforcement agencies that the drug was driving a nationwide spike of mass overdose events amid the worsening opioid epidemic. published to the Salinas Police Department Facebook page, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. That is what's coming.". We are very very close to driving down the freeway and seeing bodies hanging from the overpasses. "We are not talking about mom and pop people selling marijuana that they grew in their backyard. Cabrera said there is still information that is being processed. NBC4 news is delivered across the main broadcast on channel4, at www.nbcla.com, and through multiple interactive social media platforms 24/7. The article reported that synthetic opioids are the most common substances involved in drug overdose deaths in the United States. Los Angeles authorities said further arrests were expected. San Diego Roman Catholic diocese facing yet another lawsuit from its insurance company, K-Pop isnt the only hot ticket in Koreatown how trot is captivating immigrants, Los Angeles is suddenly awash in waterfalls, Officials unprepared for epic mountain blizzard, leaving many trapped and desperate, The Week in Photos: California exits pandemic emergency amid a winter landscape. Mike Holm, a DEA agent in Los Angeles, said the SWAT team was called in to guard the warehouse because we had a large amount of money and drugs in there., We know the Colombians have made threats against law enforcement agencies, he said. A police dog kneels in front of numerous brown bags allegedly containing methamphetamine in San Diego County, California. According to a post published to the Salinas Police Department Facebook page on September 16, the department's investigations unit worked with the Monterey County District Attorney's Office, Salinas Violence Suppression Task Force and the Homeland Security Investigations Monterey Office. The leads here are endless, Reiner said. Did you encounter any technical issues? Another was arrested at about the same time at the Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills. appreciated. Fentanyl is cheap, its easy to get and it is killing our children, our coworkers, and tens of thousands of innocent Americans who dont have to die.. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The San Diego Union-Tribune OTAY MESA, Calif. Federal authorities made what they called likely the largest methamphetamine bust in United States history, finding more than 5,528 pounds of the. Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle writer for Fox News Digital. How is that money being used? Updated These middlemen are responsible for moving drugs through Central America and over the Southwest border into the United States. Deaths related to methamphetamine use have been on the rise in San Diego in recent years. 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 . 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. Biggest drug bust goes down in LA sheriff department history. Federal officials make meth bust likely largest in U.S. history at Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The Las Vegas Sun newspaper said that three Los Angeles men, one of them a former Mexican customs official, were arrested by DEA agents at an expensive Las Vegas hotel in connection with the seizure. But crackdowns off Florida have pushed major importation routes westward, and the Colombian cartels now subcontract some of the smuggling duty to Mexican middlemen. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. "This monumental seizure represents another win against drug cartels that fuel addiction in the United States," said Shelly S. Howe, DEA Special Agent in Charge, in a statement issued with the U.S. Attorney's press release. The smugglers then deliver the cocaine to Colombian traffickers in major cities. Sign up for FOX 11s Fast 5 newsletter. Largest Cocaine Bust in California History Announced by LAPD Also seized were 893 pounds (405 kilograms) of cocaine and 13 pounds (5.9 kilograms) of heroin. Moving swiftly, the investigative team obtained search warrants for the warehouse and for a luxurious penthouse apartment in the 4700 block of Sepulveda Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, but by the time the officers arrived at each location, all the occupants were gone. Gutensohn said the traffickers maintain control over profitable distribution routes. A record meth bust part of a national operation was announced Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. One of the largest drug busts in Monterey County, California history was pulled off when nearly $2 million worth of illegal drugs were seized by Salinas police and federal agents, as. The record discovery also makes clear that patterns of international cocaine smuggling have shifted dramatically, Gutensohn said. Read the original article below and watch our original report from . National correspondent Bill Melugin reports on the major drug raid allegedly tied to Mexican cartels. 2023 Cable News Network. Lamas and Raygozaparedes have each been charged with multiple counts of possession for sale of a controlled substance and multiple counts of the sale or transportation for sale of a controlled substance, all felonies, the D.A.s office said.