An extensive crackdown on drug trafficking in California resulted in the arrest of over twenty persons; the operation started in Mexico.
FBI Assistant Special Agent Jonathan Snow stated, “This operation was the culmination of four years of teamwork and the FBI’s determination and strong investigative work.”
At a news briefing on Monday, US Attorney Phillip Talbert and Snow disclosed that 22 individuals, mostly from Los Angeles County, have been charged.
The individuals detained are charged with smuggling drugs into the United States from Mexico and dispersing them throughout the nation, including the Central Valley.
According to investigators, the suspects have also transported meth, cocaine, and fentanyl under the pretense of a reputable shipping company by packing them into portable projectors and batteries.
“Operation Toxic Waste” resulted in the recovery of 35 weapons, cocaine, heroin, and almost 13,000 pounds of methamphetamine and over 50 pounds of fentanyl combination.
15 persons had been taken into custody as of Monday, mostly along the California-Mexico border.
The remaining seven people are still on the loose.
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In the event of a conviction, the defendants may spend 20 to 40 years in prison; some may even receive life sentences.
The task of clearing the streets of drugs involved more than 200 law enforcement officers.
Talbert wants residents in the Central Valley to be aware of the potential dangers of these medications as the investigation progresses.
“Fentanyl now accounts of about two-thirds of over 100,000 annual overdose deaths in the United States. It can can kill in very small amounts. Only two milligrams of fentanyl is a potentially lethal dose,” Talbert stated.
