On Wednesday afternoon, federal agents swarmed MacArthur Park in Los Angeles as part of Operation Free MacArthur Park, a two-month operation that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced. At a press conference in the park, Essayli said, “The federal government, working with our local police, has taken over the park this afternoon to free it from an open-air drug market that has been growing here for too long.” The operation went after people who sold fentanyl and meth on the street.
Key facts – Operation Free MacArthur Park
- Wednesday afternoon, two‑month operation
- MacArthur Park, Los Angeles
- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli
- 25 arrest warrants, 8 search warrants (6 at businesses)
- 19 kg fentanyl seized
- 18 arrested, 7 fugitives
- Top trafficker (40, Calabasas) in custody
- March: 12 gang members arrested
- Sinaloa Cartel suppliers targeted
Authorities carried out 25 arrest warrants and eight search warrants, six of which were at businesses near the park. Authorities took about 19 kilograms of fentanyl, arrested 18 people, and found seven people who were still on the run.
How Operation Free MacArthur Park went down: raids, flushes, and arrests
By the numbers – Operation Free MacArthur Park
During Operation Free MacArthur Park, agents were seen on video searching nearby businesses and going through their supplies. DEA agents saw people trying to flush drugs down toilets and saw agents carrying big boxes from open-air markets. Essayli said that the park’s top drug dealer, a 40-year-old man from Calabasas, is in federal custody.
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He also talked about a March operation in which twelve members of the park’s 18th Street gang were arrested on federal charges of drug trafficking and murder. “In March, we took their leaders into custody. “Today, we’re going to arrest the street dealers and the suppliers,” Essayli said. DEA Special Agent in Charge Anthony Chrysanthis said that six search warrants were issued for businesses in the Alvarado corridor. Earlier that day, three more warrants were served at different locations in Southern California. The Sinaloa Cartel has been named as the main supplier by investigators.
After Operation Free MacArthur Park, officials talk.
Jim McDonnell, the head of the LAPD, said that three people were found to be selling a lot of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the park. McDonnell said, “I told our community members and warned the criminals that the LAPD would not stand by if they tried to reorganize and keep doing their deadly business, as today’s operation showed.” DEA Special Agent Chrysanthis said that Operation Free MacArthur Park was “only one step taken by a few agencies working hard to ease the pain and hopelessness around MacArthur Park.” The search is still on for seven fugitives. The two-month operation shows that the Sinaloa Cartel’s supply chain is under constant pressure, from street dealers to gang leaders.
What’s next?
Seven fugitives remain at large. Federal control of the park continues. More actions expected to prevent the drug market from returning.
