More than 70,000 fentanyl pills were seized and more than two dozen people were arrested after law enforcement cracked down on a drug trafficking organization that targeted Southern California, the California Department of Justice announced Monday.
Twenty-seven people were arrested as the result of a multi-agency investigation dubbed “Operation Safe Harbor,” which yielded the seizure of 30 firearms, 1.7 pounds of fentanyl powder, 143 pounds of meth, 4.7 pounds of heroin and 1.9 pounds of cocaine. The investigation involved agencies on the state, local and federal level.
“These are not street-level folks that we just arrested during a narcotics operation, these are the folks that were telling the folks to deliver the guns, deliver the drugs to this location,” said Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Capt. Brent McGuyre.
With the successful arrests announced Monday, LAPD said it isn’t letting its guard down and will continue cracking down on the organization.
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“Make no mistake about it, this organization is looking to build and re-build right now,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said.
Law enforcement officials did not disclose information about the organization and did not detail the identities of those involved. The state’s Department of Justice did say, however, that those arrested face charges that include transportation of controlled substance, possession of controlled substance for sale, conspiracy to commit crime and felon in possession of a firearm.
The investigation began June 1 and was conducted by LAPD, the California Highway Patrol, the FBI, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulare and Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA).
