O.C. Meth Labs Found; 6 Men Arrested
Authorities have arrested six men they believe supervised the operation of several large-scale methamphetamine labs in Orange County.
The arrests came after a series of searches that began earlier this week and ended Friday, officials said. Several hundred pounds of chemicals and equipment used to manufacture methamphetamine were seized from the homes, where officials suspect the drug had been made for more than the past five months, said Gary K. Morley, a special agent with the state’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.
Arrested during the sweep were Eduardo Rafael Martinez, 23; Saul Nodal Hernandez, 27; Pedro Barajas Romero, 29; Oscar Manuel Dominguez, 21; Rosario Jose Carbajol, 36; and Evencio Vazquez Zavalla, 31.
Two Orange County homes--one in the 2800 block of Castor Street in Santa Ana and another in the 16300 block of Harbor Boulevard in Fountain Valley--were searched and identified as methamphetamine laboratories. A house in San Bernardino County was also found to be a laboratory, Morley said.
The labs were equipped with enough chemicals and tools to yield five to six pounds of meth per house at one time, he said.
The arrests came after a five-month investigation by the FBI, the Santa Ana Police Department and the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. Officials with the newly formed Orange County Laboratory Investigation Team also worked on the case.
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