Port Police Officers Help Drive Major Regional Drug and Theft Investigations

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Port Police Aug. 3 announced significant breakthroughs in multiple regional criminal investigations through the agency’s specialized task force officers. Port police officers play a critical role in combating narcotics trafficking, precursor chemical importation, illegal manufacturing operations, and large-scale cargo theft investigations throughout the region.

In January 2026, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA New York Field Division or NYFD and the DEA Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area or HIDTA Group 48 initiated a joint investigation into a Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficking organization operating in the Los Angeles area. Over a six‑month period, the collaborative effort resulted in the seizure of 20,000 fentanyl pills and 20 pounds of methamphetamine through confidential investigative methods.

Investigators later used ground surveillance, electronic monitoring, and aerial reconnaissance to locate a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operating in a remote desert area of Los Angeles County.

On July 28, HIDTA 48, DEA Special Response Team, DEA Clandestine Laboratory Unit, Los Angeles Port Police, Hawthorne Police Department, and El Segundo Police Department executed a search warrant on the suspected methamphetamine production site. The operation resulted in the seizure of 1,378 pounds of methamphetamine—both crystal and highly condensed liquid—valued at approximately $12.5 million. Investigators also recovered roughly $80,000 in U.S. currency, and three Mexican nationals responsible for manufacturing the narcotics were taken into custody.

This major seizure follows another successful narcotics investigation in Riverside County, where officers recovered 119 kilograms of cocaine, two firearms, and identified three suspects. In a separate commercial crimes operation, cargo theft task force officers dismantled a sophisticated theft ring responsible for stealing more than $2 million in Nike merchandise. That investigation led to felony indictments against 12 individuals.