8 Arrested, $95,000 in Heroin Seized

Federal agents and local police have thwarted what they believe to be a drug ring in Oxnard with the arrest of eight people and the seizure of $95,000 worth of heroin.

About 50 officers from the Oxnard Police Department apprehended the suspects Thursday afternoon. They then raided a condo in the 2600 block of Yardarm Avenue in Port Hueneme and a home in the 500 block of South E Street in Oxnard, where they found one kilo of heroin, said Oxnard Police Sgt. Steven Blanchard.

“By working with our SWAT team, we were able to impact the flow of heroin into the area,” Blanchard said.

The bust was the result of a monthlong investigation by a countywide drug task force including agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and the Ventura County district attorney’s office, Blanchard said.

Solario Veronica, 51, of Oxnard; Sergio Perez, 33, of Oxnard; Edmundo Corona, 53, of Port Hueneme; and Israel Sanchez, 19, of Oxnard each face federal charges of conspiracy to possess and transport opiates, authorities said.

Each man is being held on $500,000 bail and, if convicted, faces a minimum of five years in prison. The arrests were significant for Oxnard police because the suspects are considered major players in the Ventura County heroin trade who had been trafficking the drug for a long time, Blanchard said.

Four others were arrested during the raid on charges unrelated to the heroin investigation.

Heriberto Veronica, 25, of Oxnard is being held without bail on suspicion of violating his parole by associating with suspected drug dealers, authorities said.

Joey Mario Veronica, 48, of Oxnard, a convicted rapist, is being held on $10,000 bail for failing to register as a sex offender, police said.

Maria Serrato, 21, of Oxnard was arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine; and Bernardo Rublo, 19, of Mexico was arrested on suspicion of possession of a loaded and concealed handgun.