San Gabriel Valley Meth Sting Nets 16 Arrests

Law enforcement officials in the San Gabriel Valley arrested 16 people Thursday for their alleged roles in a methamphetamine trafficking ring tied to a Mexican drug cartel.

The arrestees were among 27 defendants charged in a federal indictment unsealed Thurday in Los Angeles that outlines an alleged conspiracy to manufacture, possess and distribute large quantities of nearly pure methamphetamine, according to the FBI.

According to the indictment, the ring included members of the La Familial Michoacan drug trafficking organization in Mexico and Los Amables and Westside Pomona Malditos gang members in Pomona.

Federal prosecutors allege that the main defendant, Jose "Tokes" Juan Garcia Barron, traveled between Los Angeles County and Mexico, overseeing the importation of meth across the border to the United States, where it was sold on San Gabriel Valley streets by gang members, who kicked taxes up to the Mexican Mafia.

Barron is among eight defendants who have not yet been arrested, officials said.

The drugs were imported in an unfinished or liquid state and then converted for local distribution in a process known as or re-crystallization or "icing," according to the FBI.

Investigators believe the drugs were imported by airplane, boats and in vehicles and the quality of the meth was, in most cases, 99 percent pure, officials said.

In addition to today's arrests, 13 search warrants were executed in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in which quantities of methamphetamine, various pills, drug paraphernalia, and at least nine firearms were seized, according to the FBI.

The indictment and arrests were the culmination of Operation Crystal Light, a 16-month investigation by the San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Gang Task Force, authorities said.