California Department of Justice HITT, SOU and BFS assisted with operation

“Job well-done by law enforcement officers on the local, state and federal level as well as DOJ criminalists.  These operations can be lengthy but certainly pay off for public safety and the well-being of our neighborhoods and communities.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

TULARE COUNTY – On October 4, 2023 the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office announced the results of a three-month Tulare County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Taskforce (TNT HIDTA) investigation into a drug-trafficking organization operating in Earlimart.

On September 25, 2023, investigators searched nine properties, arrested five people and seized:

• 132 pounds of crystal methamphetamine,
• 842 grams of cocaine,
• Two kilos of heroine,
• 62,200 fentanyl pills
• 818 marijuana plants,
• $10,000
• 10 guns
• Stolen property worth about $180,000.

 

Investigators also discovered and dismantled an active meth conversion lab, which contained liquid meth in various stages of conversion to crystal meth. The drugs had a value of about $1.7 million.

The operation included help from:

• the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office (TNT HIDTA),
• the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA Fresno),
• the Visalia Police Department,
• the Porterville Police Department,
• the Kings County Sheriff’s Office,
• the Kern County Sheriff’s Office,
• the California Highway Patrol,
• the California Army National Guard,
• the California Department of Justice – HITT,
• the Los Angeles Police Department – Harbor Narcotics Unit,
• the California Department of Justice – Special Operations Unit,
• the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Los Angeles Field Office,
• the California Department of Justice -Bureau of Forensic Science (BFS)
• and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.