Federal and local agents tore through a residence in the 19900 block of Yellowstone Road in Hinkley on September 29, dismantling an active methamphetamine conversion lab and arresting four suspects on the spot. The rural desert property had been converted into a dangerous, unsanitary drug-processing site, with hazardous unknown chemicals found throughout the home.
The raid was carried out by Drug Enforcement Administration agents working alongside the Kern County Sheriff's Office and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, according to a post from DEASanFrancisco
. The San Bernardino County Fire Department's hazmat unit assisted on-site personnel in safely processing the lab, per the same post. Investigators seized 574 pounds of methamphetamine and another 1,567 pounds of methamphetamine in solution, along with three firearms and several thousand dollars in U.S. currency, the agency said.
The bust didn't stop in the desert. Kern County Sheriff's Office deputies executed a connected warrant early on September 30 in the 600 block of P Street in Bakersfield, arresting a fifth suspect linked to the same operation, according to Drug Bust Daily. The two-stop operation stretched the investigation from a rural stretch of the Mojave into the heart of the Central Valley's biggest city.
Suspects Identified, Ages Range From 21 to 37
Authorities have identified the five people arrested as Alexander Lopez Garcia, 27; Miguel Angel Vaal, 37; Juan Daniel Castro, 24; Andrea Gamino, 33; and Claricel Guillen, 21, Drug Bust Daily reported. All five face felony conspiracy and drug manufacturing charges tied to the lab operation.
Two of the three firearms recovered during the Hinkley raid had previously been reported stolen, the outlet's reporting notes, adding stolen property and weapons allegations on top of the drug charges already facing the group. All five suspects were booked into the Kern County Sheriff's Office's Lerdo Justice Facility in Bakersfield, the county's primary detention center, to await court proceedings, per the same account.
A Separate Kern County Seizure
A Kern County Sheriff's Office video described a seizure of more than 3,600 pounds, according to the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
The Hinkley and Bakersfield arrests come less than a month after a similarly large operation in Fresno County dismantled another massive conversion lab, leading to 15 arrests and the seizure of 2,500 pounds of meth, 500 gallons of liquid meth, and 21 firearms, as Hoodline previously reported. Together, the incidents describe meth-lab investigations in Fresno County and Hinkley.
Steep Penalties Await Under State Drug Law
Under California Health and Safety Code Section 11379.6, manufacturing or converting a controlled substance is a felony punishable by up to seven years in state prison, according to Justia Law.
