(KTLA) — On the early morning of Aug. 7, a coordinated force of law enforcement officers descended on several locations across the San Fernando Valley, executing search warrants tied to one of the region’s largest narcotics trafficking investigations.
Led by the Simi Valley Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, and backed by SWAT, K-9 units, drone operators, crime scene investigators, and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Ventura office, the multi-location operation targeted a sophisticated Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) suspected of flooding the area with deadly narcotics.
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Warrants were served at two residences, one on Morella Avenue in North Hollywood and another on De Celis Place in Van Nuys, as well as two businesses, one in Northridge on Reseda Boulevard and another in North Hollywood on Lankershim Avenue. The swift, tactical raids followed a year-and-a-half-long investigation that uncovered a sprawling network spanning Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties.
According to authorities, detectives traced a fleet of vehicles linked to the DTO making near-daily trips into Simi Valley and surrounding communities, delivering vast quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. The frequency and scale of the shipments alarmed officials, who feared the drugs’ lethal potential on the streets…