SANTA MONICA : Police Arrest Six in Sale of Rock Cocaine
Capping a three-month investigation, Santa Monica police swept into a crime-infested neighborhood Friday and immediately arrested half a dozen people on drug charges.
Armed with shotguns and submachine guns, police poured into two apartments and an adjacent house in the 1800 block of 17th Street with arrest warrants for 16 people accused of selling rock cocaine.
Police arrested six people on the warrants and said they expected to capture the other 10 suspects later Friday. Since the investigation began, police said, 26 people had been arrested on various drug charges.
Residents of the mile-square area between Pico and Olympic boulevards have been asking police to deal with the flagrant drug sales and gang violence for months.
“The residents have been complaining that we’re not doing anything, but we’ve had this undercover operation going on,” Police Sgt. Gary Gallinot said.
“It’s been hard because we haven’t been able to tell them about the investigation, and that things would get better.”
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