18 Arrested In Operation Targeting Open-Air Drug Market At MacArthur Park: Feds

LOS ANGELES — Authorities arrested 18 people in connection with MacArthur Park’s open-air drug market, including a couple believed to be the main sources of fentanyl and methamphetamine for the area, officials said Wednesday.

There are 25 people charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. At one defendant’s Calabasas home, authorities seized roughly 40 pounds of fentanyl, officials said.

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“For far too long, MacArthur Park has been plagued by drug addiction, crime, and despair,” Anthony Chrysanthis, special agent in charge for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division, said in a news release.

“While this is a drug enforcement operation, it is also an effort to restore safety and wellness, and to return MacArthur Park back to the community.”

The complaint affidavit alleges 27 separate drug deals of fentanyl and methamphetamine occurred from March 9 to April 15 in and around MacArthur Park, according to the department.

The affidavit also alleges that Mallaly Moreno-Lopez, 31, and her boyfriend, Jackson Tarfur, 28, both of Westmont, are a main source of fentanyl powder and methamphetamine in the Alvarado Corridor and MacArthur Park, typically on behalf of the 18th Street Gang, authorities said.

The couple hand-delivered narcotics to the Alvarado Corridor for stashing in storefronts and distribution to street-level dealers, according to the department.

Yolanda Iriarte-Avila, 40, of Calabasas, was a source for methamphetamine for Moreno-Lopez, via Iriarte-Avila’s boyfriend, Jesus Morales-Landel, 33, of Exposition Park, a street-level dealer in the MacArthur Park area, authorities said.

If convicted, Moreno-Lopez, Tarfur, Iriarte-Avila and Morales-Landel would face 10 years to life in prison, according to the department. The remaining defendants would face up to 20 years, authorities said.

The defendants arrested on Wednesday are expected to appear on Thursday in U.S. District Court, authorities said, noting seven of the defendants are considered fugitives.