In a sweeping pre-dawn raid, police arrested 16 people, including a man they accuse of being a Skid Row drug ringleader, and seized a stash of drugs and $1.8 million, officials said.
Twenty search warrants were served simultaneously at multiple locations early Wednesday as part of a months-long drug investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Derrick Turner, the alleged drug boss, was arrested at his home in Cerritos by a SWAT team, police said. Turner's wife and children were home at the time.
"It's all shocking. Who knew?" one neighbor said.
"You see people coming and going, but other than that it's just like a normal type of neighborhood," another neighbor said.
Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and $1.8 million - including $600,000, many in dollar bills - were seized at another location during the bust. Police said it was the proceeds of small-dollar transactions.
The identities of the 15 others arrested were not immediately released.
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The drug task force operation was designed to help reduce the availability of cheap, illegal drugs, police said.
Oleevia Woo contributed to this report.
