The record discovery also makes clear that patterns of international cocaine smuggling have shifted dramatically, Gutensohn said. 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. 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. Cabrera said there is still information that is being processed. Agents said the confiscated drugs will be inventoried at the warehouse before being taken to a federal facility for safekeeping. Hazell said the surveillance team obtained a warrant and searched the car, finding 20 kilograms of cocaine in the trunk. "We are not talking about mom and pop people selling marijuana that they grew in their backyard. or redistributed. L.A. Affairs: My divorce isnt contagious. published to the Salinas Police Department Facebook page, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. A record meth bust part of a national operation was announced Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Narcotic Bureau identified over 500 illegal marijuana cultivations in 2021, increasing from the 150 identified in 2020, according to a June statement. Authorities in Southern California have seized more than 16 tons of marijuana worth an estimated $1.19 billion, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said Wednesday. 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. in more than a decade, authorities say Photos supplied by Orange County district attorney's office showing the 821 pounds of. Now, come 2021, were going to have to redo the same concept. 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. ET: This story has been updated with statements from Salinas Police Departmen press information officer Miguel Cabrera and Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni. Sept. 30, 1989 12 AM PT Times Staff Writers In what was described as the largest narcotics haul ever, federal agents seized almost 20 tons of cocaine--worth up to $6 billion on the street--at a. 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. They worked with authorities in Arizona and it started to grow. "This massive seizure likely saved lives and prevented the Sinaloa Cartel from doing business and profiting on the lives of people in our communities.". 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. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department documented the biggest drug bust in its history on Tuesday and officials expect Mexican cartels are to blame. Miguel Cabrera, the press information officer for the Salinas Police Department, told Newsweek that the department came across some information that kicked off the entire investigation. "This is an issue that is plaguing, and will continue to plague, if we do not make it very uncomfortable and one way to make it uncomfortable is to prosecute," Barger said. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni told Newsweek that the investigation is ongoing to ensure everyone involved has been identified. 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. One of the trailers was still parked by the warehouse door on Friday. A record meth bust part of a national operation was announced Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. Legal Statement. All rights reserved. According to the criminal complaint, on February 13th, the task force got a tip Clayton . March 4 (UPI) --Australian police on Saturday revealed the details of an operation that intercepted $1 billion worth of cocaine in the country's biggest-ever drug bust. Western Australia Police . 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.. Authorities seize over 400 pounds of meth, cocaine and heroin in toolboxes at California border crossing. Both vehicles allegedly contained about 148 bundles of a material that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the statement. Andres Jesus Morales, 30, and Christine Ponce, 27, were charged with four drug-related felonies with the intent to sell a controlled substance, the Riverside . "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. 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. 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. In 2020, more than 23,000 Americans died from overdoses involving psychostimulants, primarily meth, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 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. The smugglers then deliver the cocaine to Colombian traffickers in major cities. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Were going to reintroduce this law and order and make sure we drive these people out of business and give this community back to the residents.". 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 . 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. This month the DEA made the biggest meth bust in American history: 2200 pounds of meth, nearly 900 pounds of cocaine, and 13 pounds of heroin. Heavy security was employed Friday afternoon as the seized cash was deposited at a downtown Los Angeles bank. Officers also seized 821 pounds of methamphetamine and 189.7 pounds of cocaine after pulling over the minivan leaving a Buena Park home. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The search at the Sherman Oaks apartment turned up little, but Dist. The investigation is continuing.. NBC4 produces 43 hours each week of local news and weather, and the station features the largest award-winning investigative unit in Southern California. "Because of our great partnerships with other law enforcement agencies, we will continue to disrupt the cartels' flow of drugs into our cities.". She called on the district attorney to prosecute those arrested in the operation. Millions of unsuspecting people have the grim reaper looking over their shoulder and they have no idea how close they actually are to dying from taking a single pill, Orange County Dist. Five men at the scene of the raid were taken into department custody who identified themselves as Mexican nationals who just arrived in the U.S. within the last month. Biggest drug bust goes down in LA sheriff department history. The drugs were intended for distribution in Southern California, including Los Angeles, according to DEA officials, who displayed the haul at the agency's warehouse in an undisclosed location in Los Angeles County. This is not just powder on the table, said Donald Hamilton, a DEA spokesman in Washington. ", "It was a team effort all the way around," he said. The department brought in massive bulldozers to raid the scene, completely leveling the illegal grows and there are reportedly hundreds more to tackle. A record meth bust part of a national operation was announced Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. The coke you can replace.. "What we want to do is send a clear and loud message to the cartels and anyone doing an illegal operation in the high desert: Your days are over and we're coming for you," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much The men were charged with importation and distribution of narcotics, the Sun said. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The bundles found in the boxes tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the statement. "The origins of the sheriffs department date back to 1850 when this was the Wild West," the sheriff said. More than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine were seized this week after authorities in San Diego County tracked and intercepted a truck that crossed the US border from Mexico, officials said Friday. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Over 400 Pounds of Meth, Cocaine and Heroin were Discovered in Toolboxes. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 2. Market data provided by Factset. "We're talking about the cartels," Lancaster, California, Mayor Rex Parris said at a Wednesday press conference. Updated 09/21/2021, 5:55 p.m. Click here for mor. Edgar Alfonso Lamas, 36, and Carlos Raygozaparedes, 53, were arrested March 17 after Buena Park police officers recovered 20.5 pounds of fentanyl pills from inside a minivan, the Orange County district attorneys office announced Wednesday. The DEA's big bust came just a week before another huge meth seizure. Until the seizure in Sylmar, the largest haul occurred on March 10, 1984, when officials seized 11 tons of cocaine in Tranquilandia, Colombia. GILROY, Calif. On August 24, 2010, law enforcement seized what was - at the time- the largest meth bust in the United States. 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. The NBC Owned Television Stations, a division of NBCUniversal, also operates COZI TV (www.cozitv.com), a national network that brings viewers some of Americas most beloved and iconic television shows and movies.#NBC #NBCLA DEA CNN More than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine were seized this week after authorities in San Diego. The next morning, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office announced the 34 arrests and the seizure of 3,164 pounds of methamphetamine the biggest drug bust in the county's history, and one of the largest ever in the nation. 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. Meth is a highly addictive stimulant that usually takes the form of a powder. 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. Large quantities of the drug have been discovered in trucks that entered the country through the Otay Mesa commercial point of entry before. 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. 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. A tip from an informant led to a record drug bust. 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. The 2,224 pounds (1,008.7 kilograms) of methamphetamine was seized Oct. 2 during an investigation of a drug-trafficking organization with ties to the Sinaloa cartel, the DEA said in a statement. The raids followed a tip from a neighborhood businessman who saw activities that didnt look quite right at the warehouse where, according to authorities, an import business dealing in inexpensive ceramics, paintings and other bric-a-brac was operated as a front. But crackdowns off Florida have pushed major importation routes westward, and the Colombian cartels now subcontract some of the smuggling duty to Mexican middlemen. They also found $966,000 in cash and seized five tractor-trailers. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Winter storms ease drought conditions in California, report shows, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, David Lindley, guitarist best known for work with Jackson Browne, dies at 78, Best coffee city in the world? 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. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Authorities made one of the largest methamphetamine busts ever in San Diego County, seizing more than 5,000 pounds of the drug and arresting four Tijuana . The cocaine was to be held as evidence and then burned, officials said. / CBS News. 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 DEA's Los Angeles Division. Bill Bodner, special agent in charge of the DEA's Los Angeles Field Division, said Los Angeles is a major transshipment hub for Mexican cartels trafficking illegal drugs across the southwest border. "And we introduced law and order back in those days. Discovery Company. Tori B. Powell is a breaking news reporter at CBS News. SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Two alleged drug dealers were behind bars Wednesday after what Orange County authorities described as the largest drug bust in the past 16 years. The investigation into the drug trafficking organization remains ongoing. They have pleaded not guilty and remain in custody on $5-million bail, the D.A.s office said. Originally from Miami, she holds a masters degree in journalism from USC. One bill would make it a felony to possess 2 or more grams of the synthetic opioid. 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. 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. 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.