OXNARD : $80,000 in Drugs Seized; 6 Arrested

Law enforcement agents seized $80,000 worth of heroin and cocaine from five Oxnard residents and a Mexican national suspected of operating a drug delivery ring in the Oxnard area, authorities said Friday.

Narcotics officers from the Sheriff’s Department and Oxnard Police moved in on the suspects in three separate raids beginning 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sheriff’s Sgt. Arnie Aviles said.

Oxnard residents Jesus Heredia Naranjo, 21, Guillermo Naranjo, 24, Filomeno Heredia Naranjo, 42, Jose Luis Martinez, 49, and Blanca Somosa Melo, 42, were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to possess cocaine and heroin for sale. Graciela Meza Avalos, 39, of Michaocan, Mexico, also was arrested on suspicion of the same charge.

Sheriff’s deputies had observed the suspects making drug deliveries from several Oxnard locations for about a month, detectives said. The busts began with the arrest of Martinez, who was stopped in his vehicle while delivering several small packets of heroin in the Oxnard area, narcotics Detective Bob Garcia said.

A search of an apartment in the 700 block of F Street in Oxnard turned up about a half ounce of heroin, Aviles said. The Naranjos, who are related, and Melo were taken into custody there, he said. Filomeno Naranjo was armed with a small-caliber handgun at the time of his arrest, officials said.

Avalos was arrested at the Ros-Eda Motel in south Oxnard, where detectives found 6 ounces of high-grade heroin and 2 ounces of cocaine, Aviles said.

Garcia said the quantity of the drugs seized is substantial.

The Naranjos, Melo and Avalos were in custody Friday in Ventura County Jail, in lieu of $100,000 bail each. Martinez was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail, jail officials said.