Like in Riverside, drug seizures along that stretch of border have gone up dramatically. The entire operation lasted nearly two years. Her husband ran out the back door, vanishing into the desert. Even if Sinaloas dont move the drugs themselves, they tax any other cartel that ships narcotics through their territory, like a smuggling tollbooth. In April, Arkansas State Police found 275 poundsof meth worth an estimated $10 million hidden in a semi-truck on Interstate 40, about 10 miles east of Little Rock. Seized heroin has been mostly white powder, rather than black tar, and officials believe these shipments are intended for East Coast markets, where white powder heroin is more popular. That pipeline begins south of the border, in a region of Mexico controlled by the Sinaloa cartel. My guys are all cops, and they could tell it wasnt explosives, said Sgt. The massive methamphetamine seizure was part of Operation Crystal Shield, a nationwide effort the DEA launched in February. Over a three-year period that ended in September, the Riverside DEA Office, which also covers San Bernardino County, has seized about 6,500 poundsof meth and 770 poundsof heroin. Although this stash house was busted, no one knows how many remain undetected, small cogs in Riverside Countys gigantic drug smuggling machine. RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Four gang members have been arrested for the murder of an innocent man in the Riverside neighborhood of Casa-Blanca following a large-scale gang bust. Successful seizures like these save lives and reduce the exploitation and victimization of our local communities, Bodner said. "The chemicals involved, you hear of places blowing up," Rivas said. Police say most of the suspects arrested have prior criminal records. Hailing from Temecula, she previously covered Riverside County and the Inland Empire and is now focused on Orange County. From the Sinaloa territory, drugs enter the country in Calexico, a border town in Imperial County. The Riverside office also seized nearly $47 million in cash, vehicles and guns during that three-year span. "The more dope we can take off the street, the safer a community it is for us.". Desert Sun reporter Brett Kelman can be reached by phone at (760) 778-4642, by email at brett.kelman@desertsun.com, or on Twitter @TDSbrettkelman. Informasjon om enheten din og Internett-tilkoblingen, blant annet IP-adressen, Surfe- og skeaktivitet ved bruk av Yahoos nettsteder og apper. HOPEWELL, Va. (WWBT) - Hopewell police arrested two people during an early morning drug bust. The deputy was not surprised. Contests & Promotions YREKA, Calif., For the fourth time in just over five weeks, members of Siskiyou County's new Domestic Highway Enforcement (DHE) Team made a significant drug bust while patrolling the I-5 corridor through Siskiyou County last Thursday, March 10. They knew then it was probably dope.. Heres a timeline, Crusading vet treats some of L.A.s most cherished residents: The pets of skid row, The Times podcast: How the California GOP lost its national sway, Veterans claim anti-vet bias in Metros choice of muralist for a new VA station, California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection, Caregiver sentenced to life in prison for unspeakable sexual abuse of disabled children. The seizures by the two agencies are more than enough to provide a dose of meth for every man, woman and child in the United States and Mexico, Timothy Shea, acting administrator of the DEA, said Wednesday at a warehouse in Montebello. / KCAL News. If Leon-Garcias truck had been stopped here, instead, the case would have been far less remarkable. Kathy Vara reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. MORENO VALLEY (CBSLA) - Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department seized over a thousand marijuana plants from an illegal grow house in Moreno Valley on Friday. . They say the operation was a direct result of complaints made by city residents and business owners, not just in the downtown area, but the Magnolia Center and La Sierra. Your dad just called, said Teresa Reyes, speaking to her daughter on a cellphone. As trafficking has expandedin Riverside County, so have efforts to stop it. This is a tough time for everybody, and some people turn to drugs to deal with that, he said, adding that many in-house-treatment options have been curtailed due to the coronavirus. Authorities said they found about 893 pounds of cocaine, 13 pounds of heroin and some 650 pounds of methamphetamine in the garage of a residence in Moreno Valley. Authorities said the Oct. 2 take, which involved two locations, in Moreno Valley and Perris, represents the largest domestic seizure of the narcotic in the agencys history. The drugs are alleged to have been stored in hidden compartments in their vehicles. LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) A pyramid of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin standing 10 feet tall with an estimated street value of $18.5 million was confiscated during two recent drug trafficking. Absent from these totals are countless seizures made by Border Patrol, local police and DEA agents from Los Angeles, San Diego and the East Coast, which routinely tracethe source of their drugs back to Riverside County. It was the quintessential pipe bomb, about a foot long and an inch-and-a-half wide, with caps on both ends. Agents seized more than 4,800 pounds of meth nationwide and are still working on more arrests, according to the DEA. We dont fish.. If convicted, they face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in federal prison, with a possible maximum sentence of life in prison. Gone is the risk of meth lab explosions and violence between rival cooks and dealers. One of the suspects was on active parole for attempted murder. The driver was Javier Leon-Garcia, 53, a Moreno Valley resident who police say drove the drugs cross-country before being snagged. Carfentanil . RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- An early morning raid by federal and local authorities netted 12 arrests in the Riverside area on Wednesday, with authorities confiscating large amounts of weapons,. "That's a bad combination.". The end result is an invisible network, valued in the billions of dollars, that weaves through the county, hidden within the same shipping and trucking lanes that carry agriculture and commercial goods from Mexico. Federal agents announced what they called the largest methamphetamine bust in U.S. history Wednesday, displaying a 10-foot high pile of the confiscated drug representing a haul of more than 2,200 pounds seized at stash houses in Riverside County, along with cocaine and heroin. More than 70 investigators worked the two California cases, which included extensive fieldwork and surveillance. For two months, Rohn and his partners at the DEA had been using wiretaps to chase a drug ring. LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) A pyramid of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin standing 10 feet tall with an estimated street value of $18.5 million was confiscated during two recent drug trafficking investigations in the Inland Empire representing the largest Drug Enforcement Agency meth bust in U.S. history. Massino cited Little Rock just as an example, but he couldnt have picked a truer one. In the 80s and 90s, Riverside County was a hotbed for meth manufacturing, and meth labs flourished here, taking advantage of the countys empty spaces to hide the foul smell of urine and smoke produced by mixing chemicals. The robot fired, and tin and copper flak perforated the pipe like buckshot. "Meth, heroin, cocaine," said city councilman Mike Gardner. "The greater Los Angeles area is a major transshipment hub where illegal drugs coming from the southwest border are stored in local warehouses, storage units and residential properties," according to the DEA. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Diaz says it illustrates frustrations he has with other aspects of the criminal justice system. Fifteen years ago, men like Beltran would have been cooking meth, not smuggling it. Published: Jun. The DEA decided this was the moment to strike. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Luke Money is a Metro reporter covering breaking news at the Los Angeles Times. We will continue to work together to disrupt drug trafficking organizations at every opportunity we are given.. At the end of the month, a stakeout of the property led to federal agents and police officers arresting a man who was carrying heavy boxes out of the house and placing them in a vehicle, according to the DEA. The largest DEA domestic seizure of methamphetamine in history is a significant blow to the cartels, but more importantly it is a gigantic victory for communities throughout Southern California and the United States who have had to deal with the torrent of methamphetamine coming into their neighborhoods, Shea said. "Drugs make people make bad decisions," said Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez. A team of agents cut the fence and stormed the home, guns drawn. Had they not been seized, the drugs would have infiltrated Los Angeles within a day, according to Bill Bodner, special agent in charge of the DEAs Los Angeles Division. Once smugglers pass Calexico, a majority follow one of two routes, DEA officials say. Fine white powder sprinkled out of the tiny holes. But Chief Gonzalez points to other causes for the recent rise in crime. The drugs were intended for distribution in Southern California, including Los Angeles, according to DEA officials, who displayed the haul at the agency's warehouse in an undisclosed location in Los Angeles County. The investigation led to search warrants being served at narcotics stash houses in the Riverside County cities of Moreno Valley and Perris, east of Los Angeles. The truck driver, a 47year-old Mexican citizen, was arrested and turned over the custody of the joint investigative team from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The statistics are not perfectly comparable because the Riverside seizure totals were provided only by fiscal year and national totals were provided only by calendar year. Updated: 10:31 PM PDT October 14, 2020 CALIFORNIA, USA Federal agents announced what they called the largest methamphetamine bust in U.S. history Wednesday, displaying a 10-foot high pile of. After the encounter at the Sam's Club parking lot, the officers got search warrants for two suspected stash houses one in Moreno Valley and the other in Perris. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced a record-breaking bust Wednesday: roughly 2,224 pounds of methamphetamine recovered in Riverside County. Narcotics detectives with the Fontana Police Department spotted the exchange. 11/22/2022 12:00 AM. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. Thats nearly one fourth as much meth, and one tenth as much heroin, as was seized by the entire DEA nationwide from 2012 to 2014. The biggest haul was in Perris, where DEA agents and investigators from several municipal police departments last week confiscated 2,224 pounds of meth, 893 pounds of cocaine and 13 pounds of heroin, according to Shea. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Officials discover 3,000 pounds of meth at Otay Mesa Port of Entry, Im afraid for her life: Riverside CC womens coach harassed after Title IX suit, Want to solve climate change? Dylan Bingham was charged Jan. 9 in La Crosse County Circuit Court with felony counts of . MORENO VALLEY, CA Federal agents on Wednesday announced what they called the largest methamphetamine bust by Drug Enforcement Agency investigators in domestic U.S. history, displaying a 10-foot-high pile of the drug weighing more than 3 tons seized at stash houses in Riverside County. Anexample of one such house was uncovered in 2006, when the DEA raided a home in a far-flung corner of the Coachella Valley. For all intents and purposes, its a proven drug dealer by the time we get up on their phones, Massino said. And these figures still don't account for all the drugs and cash seized in Riverside County. Keep up with all the latest news, arts and culture, and TV highlights from KPBS. Operation Crystal Shield has been a nationwide effort involving 70 to 80 investigators in multiple cities, including Perris, Fontana, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Atlanta. The Drug Enforcement Administration holds a news conference in Montebello, Calif., to announce the largest domestic meth seizure in the agency's history. Jawara, Earlington lead San Diego to OT win over Riverside December 20, 2022 The DEA said it represented the single "largest seizure" of meth that the agency's Los Angeles personnel had ever made. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. DEA cherishes our great law enforcement partners in San Diego, especially those who work tirelessly to protect our nations borders. The arrests were announced during a news conference in Riverside Wednesday morning, where authorities said violent crime has risen dramatically during the pandemic. "The significant seizures thwarted drug traffickers' plans to profit from these dangerous drugs that cause incredible harm to our communities," Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt said. "A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of 66 kilograms of cocaine and an additional seizure of approximately 3,552 pounds of methamphetamine from numerous boxes located in the garage," the agency stated. Industrial-sized labs moved to Mexico, where American laws are meaningless, and cartels now smuggle their product to their customer base in the U.S. Superficially,the shift has made Riverside County safer. Last year, four Coachella men were indicted as part of a conspiracy to move millions in Sinaloa drug profits from Canada to Mexico. Hayley Smith covers breaking news in California with a focus on wildfires, drought and climate change. Drug profits, often in bales of cash, follow the same path back to Mexico. 1/15/2023 Moore, Ezekiel Age: 34 Sex: M Arrest Date\Time: 1/15/2023 4:48:00 AM Case Number: 13-004901 PARMELE ST Rockford, IL 61104 Arrest Location: Rockford, IL Our free newsletter is delivered at 8 a.m. daily. Ok, mom, her daughter said, brimming with enthusiasm. Despite the significant number of arrests, they said the massive size of these criminal drug rings is discouraging. Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. Mop the kitchen. Reyes surrendered. This is real proof of a job well done.. "Study after study shows that where there is meth addiction, there is also an uptick in violent crime including robberies, assaults and murders.". 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