Los Angeles County authorities on March 11 announced a major drug bust that resulted in three arrests and the seizure of 50 pounds of fentanyl.
The fentanyl haul was more than the total seized at the U.S.-Canadian border last year, according to District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Two of the three arrested were not required to post bond before they were released back into the community Wednesday, according to inmate records.
Local police in Downey, about 16 miles south of Los Angeles, worked with a state and county fentanyl task force during the investigation.
“To say this investigation has saved thousands of lives is an understatement,” Downey Police Chief Scott Lougher said at a news conference Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles, where he was joined by Attorney General Rob Bonta and Hochman.
The three defendants, who were arrested March 5 in Downey, are Pricilla Gomez, 43, of Torrance; her brother Gustavo Omar Gomez, 47, of Huntington Park; and Carlos Manuel Mariscal, 38, also of Huntington Park.
Pricilla Gomez—who was in federal custody Tuesday—faces three counts of possession for sale of a controlled substance, and one count for selling, transporting, or offering to sell a controlled substance. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 28 years and eight months in prison.
Gustavo Gomez was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance for sale. He faces a maximum of 24 years in prison.
Mariscal was charged with two counts of possession for sale of a controlled substance, one count of possession of a firearm silencer, and one count of illegally possessing ammunition as an ex-convict. He could get 38 years and eight months in prison.
Gustavo Gomez and Mariscal were released without having to post bond, according to inmate records.
According to Bonta, the state’s fentanyl task force and local police had received “reliable information” that Pricilla Gomez was allegedly an illegal drug courier.
On Jan. 22, Downey police pulled her over for having tinted windows and discovered a kilogram of fentanyl in her vehicle, officials reported.
She then led officers back to an apartment, where they encountered Gustavo Gomez and Mariscal.
“She acknowledged the possession of some drugs and also a K-9 was activated at the stop,” the attorney general said.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the apartment and discovered the drugs and décor, symbols, and insignias related to a Mexican crime cartel.
Officers found 50 pounds of fentanyl, 11 pounds of heroin, and more than 2 pounds of cocaine, according to authorities.
“This is our biggest bust year,” Bonta said. “This fentanyl would have been turned into pills.”
The drug materials, which usually originated in China and are sent to Mexico before coming across the border, are used to make fake OxyContin, Xanax, Percocet, and other drugs, according to Hochman.
“I call them fentanyl poisoners, because fentanyl is not about getting high, it’s about actually killing you,” Hochman said. “They are easily accessible by children on the internet.”
Los Angeles County sees an average of six to seven homeless people die from fentanyl overdoses every day, Hochman estimated.
The pills are “basically silent assassins,” he added.
The district attorney’s office will prosecute the case in Los Angeles, according to the district attorney.
The three defendants were in court Tuesday for their initial hearing.
Gustavo Gomez and Mariscal are scheduled for preliminary hearings April 16 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the district attorney’s office confirmed Wednesday.
