Overview
- Federal and local agents executed roughly 30 pre-dawn warrants Thursday across Southern California, arresting 25 people and unveiling three federal indictments that name 43 defendants.
- Officials say they seized about 120 pounds of meth, nearly nine pounds of fentanyl, 6.6 pounds of cocaine, two pounds of heroin, 25 firearms, and more than $30,000 in cash.
- An indictment alleges inmate Luis Cardenas directed Orange County operations from Ironwood State Prison from June 2024 to April 2026 using contraband phones and encrypted messaging.
- Charges include murder, kidnapping, extortion and running illegal gambling ‘slap houses,’ with two men accused of a Feb. 3, 2025 killing at Anaheim’s Akua Inn that could carry life in prison or the death penalty if they are convicted.
- The FBI worked with Anaheim, Santa Ana and Fullerton police, the DEA, CDCR, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, and officials say arraignments began Thursday with more charges possible as the probe continues.