Glendale police seize cache of drugs, guns during bust

Police arrested three men on Monday after allegedly finding more than $400,000 worth of drugs, including opium, heroin and methamphetamine, inside their Los Angeles apartment.

Brian Garcia, 25, Erick Gastelum, 28, and Jose Garcia, 50, were taken into custody about 4 p.m. on suspicion of possessing drugs for sale, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

“They ran the gamut when it came to the drugs,” he said.

Narcotics detectives seized 20 pounds of opium, two pounds of heroin, 1 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine, a pound of marijuana and a gram of cocaine inside their apartment in the 6600 block of North Figueroa Street, Lorenz said.

Detectives “were quite surprised of the variety of drugs at this type of location,” he said.

They received information that the men were selling methamphetamine from their Los Angeles apartment to Glendale residents, so they conducted surveillance and later obtained a warrant to search their apartment, Lorenz said.

Detectives also seized $5,000 and four weapons, including an assault gun, breaching shotgun and .45 caliber handgun.

Glendale residents, Lorenz said, were visiting the apartment to buy drugs for use or resale.

The men were allegedly operating for at least several months and had a strong client base.

Brian Garcia and Gastelum were released this week on bail, while Jose Garcia remained in custody in lieu of $102,056 bail.

-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News

Follow Veronica Rocha on Google+ and Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA