A remote Los Angeles County desert lab has yielded 1,378 pounds of methamphetamine, about $80,000 in cash, and three suspects, authorities said Monday. The haul, valued at roughly $12.5 million, included both crystal meth and highly condensed liquid narcotics.
The search warrant was served last Friday by agencies involved in the investigation, along with the Hawthorne and El Segundo police departments, according to MyNewsLA. Officials said the probe began in January after the DEA's Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group 48 and New York Field Division started investigating a Los Angeles drug-trafficking operation allegedly organized by the Sinaloa Cartel.
Another Massive Southland Meth Haul Emerges
The scale of the seizure arrives just weeks after Anaheim police announced they had recovered approximately 2,200 pounds of methamphetamine during a separate narcotics investigation. Hoodline previously covered Anaheim's 2,200-pound haul, which followed surveillance, two traffic stops and a search warrant at a residence.
Southern California has a long record of bulk meth seizures. In 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the seizure of 2,224 pounds of crystal meth in the region and described it as the largest domestic methamphetamine seizure in the agency's history at the time.
Three Suspects Were Taken Into Custody
Investigators also found a secret methamphetamine lab operating in the remote desert area, along with the cash and narcotics, MyNewsLA reported. The three people taken into custody were described by authorities as Mexican nationals suspected of manufacturing the drugs.
Earlier operations connected to the investigation had already produced 20,000 fentanyl pills and 20 pounds of methamphetamine, officials said. The report did not identify the suspects or detail formal charges, and being taken into custody is not a finding of guilt.
