2-Month Secret Drug Investigation Leads to 43 Arrests

A few residents living in new townhouses on Gundry Avenue have complained at City Council meetings that officials were not doing enough to stop the blatant drug trafficking in their neighborhood.

“Something was being done but we couldn’t talk about it,” Councilman Manuel E. Guillen said recently in an interview.

He was referring to a two-month undercover operation by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, which ended Wednesday with the arrest of 43 people on drug charges, including possessing, selling and purchasing rock cocaine.

After several dealers were arrested Wednesday the deputies, posing as dealers, arrested people who tried to buy drugs, said Capt. Ken Bayless, commander of the Lakewood sheriff’s station, which serves Paramount.

About 50 deputies participated in the operation, which was concentrated in the 15300 block of Gundry. Many of the drug dealers operated out of an apartment complex at 15320 Gundry Ave., Bayless said.

City officials said it is not yet known how much the operation, which was funded by the city, will cost. “Whatever the cost, it is worth it,” Deputy City Manager Patrick West said. The city asked the sheriff’s deputies to conduct the undercover operation, and agreed to pay for the overtime, which was not part of the regular contract with the department.

West said the undercover effort was directed at what was believed to be one of the largest drug-dealing operations in the city.

Mayor Charles R. Weldon said: “We want drug pushers and drug users to understand that Paramount will not tolerate them and we will not surrender a single block to them.”

In an attempt to further discourage drug trafficking, West said, the city Thursday plans to close Gundry Avenue at Somerset Boulevard by building a 72-inch high concrete storm drain to create a cul-de-sac.

West said officials believe criminals will be reluctant to come into the area where there is only one exit. A sheriff’s deputy will be assigned to patrol the area.

Gundry is a residential street with a mix of older apartment buildings and the recently developed townhouses.