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LOS ANGELES () — Federal and local law enforcement agencies announced a massive drug raid in multiple Southern California locations on Wednesday, arresting 18 people, including two who they believe are the main sources of fentanyl and methamphetamine in MacArthur Park.
The raid, which was spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department, focused mainly on MacArthur Park but also included arrests in Calabasas, San Gabriel and South L.A., the DEA confirmed.
Federal and local law enforcement announced a massive drug raid and arrested 18 people on Wednesday in multiple SoCal locations — mainly MacArthur Park.
In the past 24 hours, law enforcement officers have conducted nine search warrants — six in MacArthur Park and three in Calabasas, San Gabriel and South L.A. They warned that this is only the beginning.
The 18 suspects were arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging them with a federal drug trafficking offense, the Department of Justice announced. The complaint charges 25 defendants with possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance. Seven people are still being sought by law enforcement.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies launched a massive drug raid in multiple Southern California locations on Wednesday, arresting at least 17 people.
As part of the arrests made in those cities, agents seized nearly 19 kilograms of fentanyl, worth about $8 million to $10 million, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said, adding that he believes these drugs are from the Sinaloa cartel.
The DOJ said “Operation Free MacArthur Park” aims to address what it described as an open-air drug market running rampant in the park, involving massive amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine. They noted that it is not an immigration operation.
The DOJ shared photos of the drugs collected by law enforcement during the operation.
According to the DEA, it is targeting drug dealers who are connected to cartels. According to the agency, over 200 of its personnel were involved in the operation, as well as approximately 100 from LAPD.
Essayli said the park’s “No. 1 drug trafficker,” a Calabasas resident, is in federal custody and faces possible life imprisonment. Law enforcement reportedly seized approximately 40 pounds of fentanyl during the Calabasas arrest.
“This is not a one-and-done operation. We are here, and we are not leaving. We have 300 law enforcement personnel on this operation, and they are not going anywhere, and we’ve got bigger guns than the gangsters,” Essayli said.
“It’s not street drug dealers doing this on their own. They’re supported by and answering to criminal street gangs in the area, prison gangs, and cartels. And they are doing this right here in our backyard. We’ve had enough of this,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at a press conference. “And as you’ve seen today, and as you heard earlier, this is going to continue. And as long as we need to be here doing this, you are going to see this kind of activity here.”
Video from AIR7 shows authorities in tactical gear outside a small business along Alvarado Street between Wilshire Boulevard and 6th Street, right across the street from the park, with one law enforcement officer using a chainsaw to cut through an exterior wall.
Business owners told Eyewitness News they are happy that the drug use might go away, but are fearful for what could happen next.
Some small business owners sweeping up the damage say they support getting drugs off the streets but feel like they became collateral damage in the process.
“It hurts so much that they did this because I have nothing to do with what they’re looking for,” business owner Araceli Lopez said in Spanish.
Lopez was served a warrant at her small business.
“They broke the door, they forced it open, they broke my display cases and threw out all my merchandise,” Lopez told Eyewitness News. “I don’t know what they’re looking for, because they didn’t find drugs here. They didn’t find what they were after.”
For Lopez, the day ended with thousands of dollars in damage and no arrests or drugs were found inside her business. Even though she’s glad drugs are being taken off the streets, she says open-air drug dealing happening in the park has nothing to do with the legal stores operating along the streets.
“I started crying, seeing what they did, because it’s unjust what they’ve done,” Lopez said. “I was just selling to earn my living, pay my rent and eat.”
The DOJ describes MacArthur Park, located west of downtown L.A., as an area characterized by high rates of poverty and homelessness.
“Many of the homeless in that area are drug users, and the park itself is a known location for drug users to purchase narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. It is surrounded by a densely populated, tightly packed area of apartments, offices, shops and other businesses,” the department wrote in a press release.
The release goes on to describe heavily contested gang territory around the park.
“MacArthur Park’s northern area is considered territory of the 18th Street Gang, while the area of the park south of Wilshire Boulevard is considered territory of the Crazy Riders Gang, and territory considered belonging to Mara Salvatrucha, a.k.a. ‘MS-13,’ is immediately west of the park,” the DOJ wrote.
“This is a criminal organization operating in our country, and we are not going to stand for it anymore today. So they have been put on notice. MacArthur Park belongs to the people of Los Angeles again,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, the special agent in charge with the DEA.
Federal officials said they had been surveilling the area for roughly 45 days, and they plan to arrest a total of 25 individuals as part of the entire scope of the operation. The DOJ said seven defendants are considered fugitives.
DEA officials added that another objective of the operation is about “cleaning up the community” ahead of the World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.
Everyone arrested as part of the operation on Wednesday is expected to make their first court appearances on Wednesday.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued the following statement:
“As we work to change MacArthur Park so that it’s safe and clean for families, we have zero tolerance for people who deal deadly drugs and prey on the community. We will continue to aggressively pursue our comprehensive strategy to restore MacArthur Park.”
Who was targeted in “Operation Free MacArthur Park?”
According to the criminal complaint, Mallaly Moreno-Lopez, 31, and her boyfriend, Jackson Tarfur, 28, both of the Westmont area of South Los Angeles, “serve as the, if not one of the main sources of supply of fentanyl powder and methamphetamine distributed in the Alvarado Corridor and MacArthur Park, generally on behalf of the 18th Street Gang.”
Law enforcement officers say Moreno-Lopez and Tarfur hand-delivered narcotics to the Alvarado Corridor near MacArthur Park for stashing in storefronts and subsequent distribution to street-level drug dealers. Moreno-Lopez and Tarfur are also accused of using their Westmont residence as a stash location for illegal drugs before delivering them to MacArthur Park.
The complaint also identifies Yolanda Iriarte-Avila, 40, of Calabasas, as a source of supply of methamphetamine for Moreno-Lopez, via Iriarte-Avila’s boyfriend, Jesus Morales-Landel, 33, of the Exposition Park area of South Los Angeles, who is reportedly a street-level drug dealer in the MacArthur Park area. Iriarte-Avila is accused of using her residence as a stash location for subsequent drug distribution.
The criminal complaint further alleges 27 separate drug deals of fentanyl and methamphetamine from March 9 to April 15 in and around the MacArthur Park area.
If convicted, Moreno-Lopez, Tarfur, Iriarte-Avila, and Morales-Landel would face 10 years to life in prison. The remaining defendants each would face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
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