Photos: Southern California Drug Busts

By land. By sea. By air.

In the ongoing war on drugs, smugglers have refined their tactics and gotten more creative when it comes to manufacturing, transporting, and selling illegal narcotics.

From methamphetamine packaged to resemble a foil-wrapped burrito to drug soaked greeting cards, there are some who will do everything they can to evade law enforcement.  

Below, a look at some of Southern California's most bizarre drug busts.

30 photos
1/30
U.S. Department of Justice
Twenty-six Tupperware containers that contained a total of 184.5 pounds of methamphetamine were recovered from off-road vehicles on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, after four men allegedly used the vehicles to retrieve the methamphetamine delivery near the Salton Sea.
2/30
U.S. Department of Justice
An ultralight aircraft was allegedly used to smuggle 184 pounds of meth placed in 26 Tupperware containers from Mexico to the Salton Sea on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, in California’s Coachella Valley.
3/30
U.S. Department of Justice
Four men who allegedly used off-road vehicles to retrieve a load of methamphetamine that was smuggled into the U.S. on an ultralight aircraft and dropped near the Salton Sea on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, were facing federal drug trafficking charges.
4/30
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is no longer allowing greeting cards to be sent to inmates. In 2019, nearly 150 greeting cards containing narcotics were mailed to inmates with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine.
5/30
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is no longer allowing greeting cards to be sent to inmates. In 2019, nearly 150 greeting cards containing narcotics were mailed to inmates with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine.
6/30
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is no longer allowing greeting cards to be sent to inmates. In 2019, nearly 150 greeting cards containing narcotics were mailed to inmates with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine.
7/30
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is no longer allowing greeting cards to be sent to inmates. In 2019, nearly 150 greeting cards containing narcotics were mailed to inmates with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine. Pictured above: a card soaked in Suboxone.
8/30
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is no longer allowing greeting cards to be sent to inmates. In 2019, nearly 150 greeting cards containing narcotics were mailed to inmates with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine. Pictured above: a card soaked in Suboxone.
9/30
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is no longer allowing greeting cards to be sent to inmates. In 2019, nearly 150 greeting cards containing narcotics were mailed to inmates with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine. Pictured above: a card soaked in Suboxone.
10/30
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is no longer allowing greeting cards to be sent to inmates. In 2019, nearly 150 greeting cards containing narcotics were mailed to inmates with the majority of the cards soaked in methamphetamine. Pictured above: a card soaked in Suboxone.
11/30
Department of Justice
A member of a downtown Los Angeles street gang caught with thousands of dollars worth of methamphetamine packaged to resemble 14 foil-wrapped burritos was sentenced on Monday, July 8, 2019, to 15 years behind bars for federal drug and gun crimes.
12/30
Department of Justice
Ricardo "Flaco" Renteria, 48, consented to a search of the SUV and law enforcement found a black garbage bag on the floor behind the driver's seat. Inside the bag were 14 foil-wrapped, burrito-shaped packages containing 13.7 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value ranging from $27,000 to $40,000.
13/30
NewsChopper4
Police discovered "a sophisticated clandestine drug lab" inside a Burbank home on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Officers determined the house was being used for the manufacture of honey oil, a cannabis concentrate.
14/30
LA IMPACT
Police discovered "a sophisticated clandestine drug lab" inside a Burbank home on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Officers determined the house was being used for the manufacture of honey oil, a cannabis concentrate.
15/30
LA IMPACT
Police discovered "a sophisticated clandestine drug lab" inside a Burbank home on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Officers determined the house was being used for the manufacture of honey oil, a cannabis concentrate.
16/30
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
In late Jan. 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations intercepted the largest cocaine contraband at Port Hueneme in Ventura County.
17/30
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
On Jan. 22, while conducting an enforcement boarding of a refrigerated vessel arriving from Ecuador, CBP officers discovered 80 bundles of cocaine (weighing 204.2 pounds) concealed within the floorboards of the cargo vessel. A week after, on January 28, CBP officers discovered seven bundles of cocaine weighing 17.5 pounds inside the floorboards in another cargo vessel from Guatemala.
18/30
Long Beach Police Department
Detectives with the Long Beach Police Department arrested two suspects for sales of meth and marijuana from an ice cream truck on the 3200 block of East Artesia Boulevard on Sunday, July 26, 2018. Drugs, cash and a firearm were recovered.
19/30
Long Beach Police Department
Detectives with the Long Beach Police Department arrested two suspects for sales of meth and marijuana from an ice cream truck on the 3200 block of East Artesia Boulevard on Sunday, July 26, 2018. Drugs, cash and a firearm were recovered.
20/30
LoudLabs News
California Highway Patrol officers discovered a mobile drug lab inside a U-Haul truck in Anaheim on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. The truck contained chemicals and equipment needed to manufacture meth, authorities said.
21/30
LoudLabs News
California Highway Patrol officers discovered a mobile drug lab inside a U-Haul truck in Anaheim on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. The truck contained chemicals and equipment needed to manufacture meth, authorities said.
22/30
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
A mixed narcotic load of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin weighing more than 1.7 tons was artfully concealed within a shipment of loud speakers and destined for Australia. The drugs were seized at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport by CBP officers on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.
23/30
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
A mixed narcotic load of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin weighing more than 1.7 tons was artfully concealed within a shipment of loud speakers and destined for Australia. The drugs were seized at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport by CBP officers on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.
24/30
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
A mixed narcotic load of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin weighing more than 1.7 tons was artfully concealed within a shipment of loud speakers and destined for Australia. The drugs were seized at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport by CBP officers on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.
25/30
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
A mixed narcotic load of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin weighing more than 1.7 tons was artfully concealed within a shipment of loud speakers and destined for Australia. The drugs were seized at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport by CBP officers on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.
26/30
U.S. Department of Justice
Eight people were arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, following an indictment that alleges a scheme to send methamphetamine to Hawaii, including nearly 12 kilograms of narcotics made to look like decorative Aztec calendars and statues.
27/30
U.S. Department of Justice
Eight people were arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, following an indictment that alleges a scheme to send methamphetamine to Hawaii, including nearly 12 kilograms of narcotics made to look like decorative Aztec calendars and statues.
28/30
U.S. Department of Justice
Eight people were arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, following an indictment that alleges a scheme to send methamphetamine to Hawaii, including nearly 12 kilograms of narcotics made to look like decorative Aztec calendars and statues.
29/30
U.S. Department of Justice
Eight people were arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, following an indictment that alleges a scheme to send methamphetamine to Hawaii, including nearly 12 kilograms of narcotics made to look like decorative Aztec calendars and statues.
30/30
U.S. Department of Justice
Eight people were arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, following an indictment that alleges a scheme to send methamphetamine to Hawaii, including nearly 12 kilograms of narcotics made to look like decorative Aztec calendars and statues.
Contact Us