A yearlong investigation into a drug operation with ties to Mexican cartels led to 14 arrests Wednesday morning in Los Angeles County, according to authorities.
Twenty-nine search and arrest warrants were served Wednesday morning in Southern California, Arizona and Utah.
Authorities seized about $3.2 million, firearms, nearly 400 pounds of meth and other drugs.
"Domestic drug trafficking organizations working in close coordination with Mexican cartels and violent street gangs are ever present in and around the Los Angeles area," said DEA Special Agent in Charge John S. Comer in a news release. "These groups distribute their toxic substances throughout our communities and DEA is committed to suppressing the drug threat as well as the violence associated with the illicit drug trade. Working with our local law enforcement counterparts, we can successfully target and penetrate all levels of the supply chain and effectively dismantle these criminal organizations."
The criminal drug distribution "cells" were receiving cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin from the cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, authorities said. The drugs were then distributed across the Southwest and members of LA gangs, according to investigators.
The warrants were served at "stash locations" in the South Gate and Huntington Park areas of Los Angeles.
