The suspects identified as 37-year-old Rafael Alzua, 41-year-old Galdrino Contreras, 41-year-old Mario Contreras, and 44-year-old Ethgar Velazquez are accused of attempting to transport large quantities of meth after police found them unloading a vehicle filled with the illegal substance on Thursday. Five search warrants were executed on September 9, and four individuals were arrested in Salinas, and another four were arrested in Yuma County, Arizona in connection with the ongoing investigation. NBC4 news is delivered across the main broadcast on channel4, at www.nbcla.com, and through multiple interactive social media platforms 24/7. They worked with authorities in Arizona and it started to grow. 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. Its more like powder on the football field.. If convicted, such charges carry substantial maximum penalties that include a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison along with a $10 million fine. From the Archives: Gilroy meth bust largest In U.S. history - KSBW 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 reported by KSBW Action News. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. How is that money being used? The coke you can replace.. Investigators saw someone carry out three boxes from the home and put them in a vehicle, according to authorities. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. / CBS News. Los Angeles records largest drug bust in sheriff's department history Meth bust at California border crossing is likely largest in U.S This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Market data provided by Factset. 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. "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. Did you encounter any technical issues? Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle writer for Fox News Digital. Three additional arrests reportedly occurred in Las Vegas Friday. 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The first man returned to the warehouse, but officers said they stopped the car and arrested the second man, who gave his name, sarcastically, as Ronald Reagan.. 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. Both vehicles allegedly contained about 148 bundles of a material that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the statement. 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. Officers also seized 821 pounds of methamphetamine and 189.7 pounds of cocaine after pulling over the minivan leaving a Buena Park home. 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. More than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine were seized in National City, California. 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. 2 arrested in largest drug bust in O.C. in more than a decade - Los This seizure should put to rest any further speculation that Los Angeles is, in fact, the major pathway for cocaine entering the country, Ralph Lochridge, a local DEA spokesman, said. Los Angeles police said the total amount of cocaine seized in Sylmar was 39,600 pounds, or 19.8 tons. "During the investigations it was determined that NorCal Transportation was directly connected to the Sinaloa Cartel and transporting narcotics in conjunction with Norteno gang leaders," the post continued. 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. The record discovery also makes clear that patterns of international cocaine smuggling have shifted dramatically, Gutensohn said. All rights reserved. According to the agency, authorities had been investigating a cocaine and meth drug trafficking organization believed to be linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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. 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. 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. 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. 2023 Cable News Network. Sign up for FOX 11s Fast 5 newsletter. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The men were charged with importation and distribution of narcotics, the Sun said. 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. Officials say they believe international cartels are behind the illegal large-scale marijuana farms. The fate of NorCal Transportation remains unknown for now, but Cabrera hopes it is shut down. The search resulted in the seizure of 66 kilograms of cocaine and 3,552 pounds of meth from numerous boxes found the home's garage, the DEA said. Cabrera said there is still information that is being processed. The drugs have an estimated street value of $33 million. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The Otay Mesa, California, Commercial. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 18 Biggest Drug Busts In U.S. History - Yahoo! Record Drug Bust in Southern California Is Largest in US | NBCLA One of the trailers was still parked by the warehouse door on Friday. Officials declined to say how many more people they were seeking. 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. 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. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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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. appreciated. 6:23 AM EDT, Sat July 9, 2022. According to the criminal complaint, on February 13th, the task force got a tip Clayton . 'Monumental' drug bust: 5,000 pounds of meth seized in National City in more than a decade, authorities say Photos supplied by Orange County district attorney's office showing the 821 pounds of. 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. The Facebook post noted that police believe the items seized were proceeds from the sale of the narcotics. The Sylmar haul--weighing about a much as the trash in two fully laden Department of Sanitation trucks--was roughly four times the total amount of cocaine seized throughout Los Angeles in all of 1988. Drug bust: $33 million worth of meth found in historic DEA Los Angeles All rights reserved. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. 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. 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. Legal Statement. Agents seized more than 4,800 pounds of meth nationwide and are still working on more arrests, according to the DEA. 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 drug representing a haul of more than 2,200 pounds seized at stash houses in Riverside County, along with cocaine and heroin. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Read the original article below and watch our original report from . During the investigation, DEA agents and officers, along with the Fontana Police Department, identified a house in Norco where drugs were being stored. Detectives found that the average size per cultivation at farms increased to 15 greenhouses, up from eight per farm in the year prior. Massive federal drug bust, likely the largest in the Bay Area, nets 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. Agents from Southwest Border Group 2 began investigating a large scale drug trafficking organization with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel in SD Otay-Mesa area, allegedly involved in the transportation and delivery of large quantities of drugs. according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 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. 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. Authorities seized . Successful seizures like these save lives and reduce the exploitation and victimization of our local communities, Bodner 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. Australian cops announce $1B cocaine seizure, country's biggest bust ever #KeepingYouSafe @SDSheriff K-9 Milo is a very good boy after helping our deputies and law enforcement partners make one of the biggest methamphetamine busts in #SanDiegoCounty history. The 20-foot commercial truck, which was carrying 148 meth bundles, crossed the border Thursday through the Otay Mesa Commercial Port of Entry in San Diego, the US Attorneys Office said in a statement. "This illegal activity is impacting the quality of life for residents and businesses and if left unaddressed will have long lasting and devastating affects in the region," Barger said. 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. Record DEA bust could "provide a dose of meth for every man, woman and Market data provided by Factset. Reach her at tori.powell@viacomcbs.com, First published on July 7, 2021 / 8:12 PM. July 9, 2022 6:45 AM PT. 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. 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. 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. The investigation led to search warrants at multiple narcotic stash houses in Moreno Valley and Perris in Riverside County, officials said. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. 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. 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. 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 . 2.4 tonnes of cocaine worth $677 mn, bound for Australia, intercepted in country's biggest drug bust. One was arrested early Friday at the Beverly Hills Hotel. In April, US Customs and Border Protection officers in California seized more than 400 pounds of meth, cocaine and heroin concealed in toolboxes that were being transported to the country. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Click here for mor. Get your top stories delivered daily! But over the last three weeks, they noticed the cartels really starting to make an increased effort to get drugs across the border. NBC4s news operation has received nearly every industry award bestowed on local news, including numerous Los Angeles Emmy and Golden Mike Awards, two national and two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, and a Peabody Award. 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. "This is enough dope to prove a dose of meth for every man, women and child in the United States and Mexico," DEA Acting Administrator Timothy Shea said.
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