However, another federal agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, netted an even bigger amount of meth the following week. Empty the trash in the bathroom. Authorities said the Oct. 2 take,. Over the past three years, the Riverside Office has seen a significant rise in meth and heroin trafficking, according to seizure statistics provided to The Desert Sun. The narcotics were all packed away in approximately 25 duffle bags. . "Someone who's responsible for this quantity of drugs is someone who is very, very trusted by the cartel," Bill Bodner, the special agent in charge of the Los Angeles DEA, said. Polar bear kills woman, boy in remote Alaska village, Man gets 30 years in prison in road rage killing of teen Astros fan, Video shows toddler waving handgun outside apartment; man arrested. 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. But Chief Gonzalez points to other causes for the recent rise in crime. Brett Kelman, The Desert Sun, and Brad Heath, USA TODAY. Narcotics detectives with the Fontana Police Department spotted the exchange. 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. Narcotics seized during a bust Friday in Otay Mesa. And finally, back in 2010, a DEA-led task force caught a semi-truck on Interstate-10, headed from the border to a warehouse in either Riverside County or San Bernardino County. Learn more about how we use cookies in our cookie policy. 11/22/2022 12:00 AM. Im proud of the CBP officers dedication to our mission; they continue to stop dangerous drugs from entering our communities.". The 2,224 pounds (1,008.7 kilograms) of methamphetamine was seized Oct. 2 during an investigation of a drug-trafficking organization with ties to the Sinaloa cartel, the DEA said in a statement. The Riverside office also seized nearly $47 million in cash, vehicles and guns during that three-year span. San Diegos houseless residents deal with heavy rains, flooding, San Diego Unified launches new engagement website for students, Eagle delivers 2 eggs in California nest watched by web cam, Chula Vista Elementary District converts two campuses to community schools. Vi, Yahoo, er en del av Yahoo-familien av merkevarer. Bob Epps, the bomb squad supervisor. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here. There seemed for a long time to be a rise of mom and pop meth labs in their homes, or out in a shack someplace, said Steve Harmon, the Riverside County Public Defender, who has practiced law here for nearly 40 years. The drugs seized at the location, which also included heroin and fentanyl, had a street value of about $7.2 million. The recently seized drugs stemmed from the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels in Mexico, Shea said. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community Guidelines, EEO Report | FCC Applications | Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Daily News Headlines In all, more than 150 pounds of meth were seized, in addition to more than $31,000 in cash. Klikk Administrer innstillinger for mer informasjon og for administrere valgene dine. If convicted, they face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in federal prison, with a possible maximum sentence of life in prison. 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. Authorities arrested eight defendants Thursday named in a federal grand jury indictment alleging their involvement in a drug trafficking organization operating in Los Angeles and Riverside. We'll send you the top local news stories every morning at 8 a.m. By clicking subscribe, you agree to share your email address with Times of San Diego to receive our free newsletter and breaking news alerts. RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Downtown Riverside is known throughout Southern California for its iconic festival of lights during the holidays. All you really need is a big garage and a garage door opener, Moore said. 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. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Feds Bust Up Inland Empire Drug-Trafficking Ring . CALIFORNIA, USA Federal agents announced what they called the largest methamphetamine bust in U.S. history Wednesday, displaying a 10-foot high pile of . pic.twitter.com/gdeO80nGNK. In the early-morning hours of August 19, 2020, as the rest of Santa Barbara slept, a platoon of law enforcement officers lay wide awake in the thick chaparral above Arroyo Quemada Beach. "We continue to work with our state and local partners to attack drug trafficking at all levels, and this seizure sends a clear message that we mean business.". Hayley Smith covers breaking news in California with a focus on wildfires, drought and climate change. 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This is real proof of a job well done.. Over the last month and a half, the team, which began . Smugglers will try every way possible to try and get their product across the border; and because of the partnership between CBP, Homeland Security investigations and DEA, this significant seizure occurred and we stopped them, said Anne Maricich, acting CBP director of field operations in San Diego. Man Accused Of Dumping Dog At Riverside County Cell Tower Arrested, Fill Up And Get A Fatburger To Go: Beyond Food Mart Coming To Beaumont, Big Bear Bald Eagles Lay First Egg of 2023. HOPEWELL, Va. (WWBT) - Hopewell police arrested two people during an early morning drug bust. A total of 23 arrests . Troopers championed the case as the biggest meth bust in the history of Arkansas, but the truck had come from Riverside County. Between the two homes, detectives seized 25 duffle bags of drugs containing 2,200 pounds of meth, 460 kilograms of cocaine and six kilograms of heroin. Published: Jun. Then Reyes rattled off a list of chores. Ok, mom, her daughter said, brimming with enthusiasm. 2023 www.desertsun.com. "This is enough dope to prove a dose of meth for every man, woman and child in the United States and Mexico," DEA Acting Administrator Timothy Shea said. 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? Officers served a warrant at a home in the . Once smugglers pass Calexico, a majority follow one of two routes, DEA officials say. Click Here to Download the News Channel 3 app. There's more guns on the street than I've ever seen in my career, and there's thousands of people who should be incarcerated who aren't incarcerated right now," said Gonzalez. The DEA said it was not revealing the locations of the stash houses because detectives were still working on making arrests. The Southern California seizure occurred on Oct. 2 and included 893 pounds of cocaine, 13 pounds of heroin and 2,200 pounds of methamphetamine. Shea said he believed, anecdotally, that there had been an uptick in meth use and overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Postal Service and private vehicles to ship large quantities of cocaine and other narcotics to buyers across the country. 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 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. The Southern California seizure occurred on Oct. 2, 2020 and included 893 pounds of cocaine, 13 pounds of heroin, and 2,224 pounds of methamphetamine. They wheeleda bomb-disposal robot toward the pipe, pointing a shotgun-like weapon designed to destroy any explosives inside. Authorities said it was the second-largest meth bust ever for Customs and Border Protection. Officials say the change was spurred by lawmakers, in Sacramento and Washington D.C., who created aggressive laws restricting access to the chemicals used to make meth, commonly called precursors. Withoutingredients, small-scale meth labs became unfeasible. They know that some will get caught, but a lot of it's going to get through.". 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. Shea said the United States saw a 25% increase in meth overdoses last year alone and emphasized the drugs damaging effects on communities, which often see an accompanying uptick in violent crimes including robberies, assaults and murders. Local authorities charged a California man and woman Thursday in a massive drug bust that found more than 46 pounds of a lethal and potent synthetic opioid, multiple sources reported. 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