Antelope Valley Press

More than 1,000 pounds of meth seized

Three arrested after raid near Rosamond

VALLEY PRESS STAFF REPORT

ROSAMOND — Three men from Mexico were arrested Tuesday in a multi-agency operation that dismantled a meth lab west of Rosamond, yielding more than 1,000 pounds of the illegal drug either finished or in process, Kern County Sheriff’s Office officials reported.

The arrests were made during the execution of a search warrant Tuesday morning on the large rural property in the 25000 block of Gaskell Road — the result of a lengthy joint investigation that included the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency and US Border Patrol.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Kern County Probation Department also assisted in the operation.

During their search of the property, officials saw two men later identified as Edgar Bernal, 28, and Juan Gonzalez, 23, both of Mexicali, Mexico, fleeing on foot into the nearby hills. Both were quickly apprehended without incident by Kern County Probation Department officers, officials reported.

As law enforcement ap

proached the rural property, several vehicles known to be involved with the methamphetamine operation were seen leaving the site, Sheriff’s officials reported.

Wardens of the Fish and Wildlife Department conducted a traffic stop on a Chevy Suburban in the area of 170th Street West and Avenue A. The driver and sole occupant, Marcos Sandoval, 39, also of Mexicali, Mexico, was arrested after a search of the vehicle found 758 pounds of methamphetamine packaged and concealed in the passenger compartment, officials reported.

In their search of the property, officials found 121 pounds of finished crystal methamphetamine and approximately 350 pounds of the drug held in a liquid solution. Several rifles and handguns were also seized.

The three men were arrested and booked into Kern County Jail on charges including manufacturing a controlled substance, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a controlled substance while being armed and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to sheriff’s officials.

As part of the investigation’s dismantling of the meth lab, Kern County Code Compliance responded to the site and deemed the structures and outbuildings on the property as unsafe for occupancy, based on code violations.

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2023-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

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