In connection with what authorities called one of the largest PCP seizures in history – some 4.4 million doses – a federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment against five defendants accused of a running a drug ring in the Los Angeles area.
Authorities in February seized 60 gallons of finished PCP, the common name for the drug phencyclidine, along with chemicals that could have been used to make 1,200 gallons of PCP, estimated to value $12 million on the street.
The chemicals were seized in Culver City and several places in LA, according to a press release on the indictment from the office of André Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
The defendants allegedly conspired to make and then sell the drugs in LA, New York, Maryland and other parts of the country.
One gallon of PCP contains about 74,000 doses of the drug, the press release said, making the seized finished drug amount to more than 4.4 million doses.
The seizure was among the largest for PCP in history, according to the release.
An affidavit filed in the case said large amounts of PCP and related chemicals were found at a home in 4300 block of Brighton Avenue in LA's Vermont Square area, southwest of USC.
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At another home frequented by a defendant, in the 3600 block of Second Avenue in the Jefferson Park area, a smell similar to PCP was observed by detectives, the affidavit stated.
Storage units at two facilities in Culver City were also found to contain guns, nearly $450,000 in cash, PCP and chemicals to make PCP.
Detectives approached one of the defendants as she was at a UPS Store in Culver City allegedly attempting to ship to Dallas a box that was found to have three 1-gallon containers of PCP that were emitting a chemical odor, according to the affidavit.
The investigation was prompted by a source who agreed to help undercover federal Drug Enforcement Administration officers in New York obtain PCP from California. The DEA, Los Angeles Police Department and a regional LA-area police task force worked together on the investigation.
The defendants charged were: Darryl Dwayne Burton, also known as "Theodore Hooks," 56, of Los Angeles; Omar Ahmad, 59, of New York; Doris Renee Wade, 47, of New York; Carl Michael Arnsby, 41, of Los Angeles; and Lagina Bell Huckaby, 32, of Los Angeles.
All are in custody and are expected to appear in federal court for arraignment next week. Their charges could result in life sentences, if convicted.
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