Takedown Targets Open-Air Drug Market at L.A.’s MacArthur Park, Long an Area Run by Gang Members and Homeless Drug Users

LOS ANGELES - Eighteen defendants, including two people law enforcement believes are the main sources of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Los Angeles's gang- and drug-infested MacArthur Park, have been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging them with a federal drug trafficking offense, the Justice Department announced today.

The complaint charges 25 defendants with possession with the intent to distribute, and distribution of, a controlled substance.

At one defendant's Calabasas residence, law enforcement seized approximately 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of fentanyl.

The defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Seven defendants are considered fugitives.

"Today, we begin reclaiming MacArthur Park from criminals and drug addicts to return this public space to the citizens of Los Angeles," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. "Together with our federal and local law enforcement partners, we are executing multiple arrest and search warrants targeting those who are distributing drugs in and around the park."

"For far too long, MacArthur Park has been plagued by drug addiction, crime, and despair," said Anthony Chrysanthis, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Los Angeles Field Division. "Today's operation is only one step, taken by a handful of agencies working hard to alleviate the anguish and sense of hopelessness burdening MacArthur Park, local businesses, and the surrounding neighborhood. 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."

"Today's operation shows the strength of our partnership with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration," said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. "We witnessed drug activity return to MacArthur Park, and our teams acted quickly to disrupt both the dealers and the suppliers behind them. Fentanyl remains one of the most dangerous threats to our community, and we are committed to keeping it off our streets. We will remain relentless, alongside our federal partners, in protecting the people of Los Angeles from dangerous drug activity."

MacArthur Park, located west of downtown Los Angeles, is an area of the city characterized by high rates of poverty and homelessness. Many of the homeless in that area are drug users, and the park itself is a known location for drug users to purchase narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. It is surrounded by a densely populated, tightly packed area of apartments, offices, shops and other businesses.

The park and the immediate surrounding area are part of heavily contested gang territory. MacArthur Park's northern area is considered territory of the 18th Street Gang, while the area of the park south of Wilshire Boulevard is considered territory of the Crazy Riders Gang, and territory considered belonging to Mara Salvatrucha, a.k.a. "MS-13," is immediately west of the park.

The complaint's affidavit alleges that Mallaly Moreno-Lopez, 31, and her boyfriend, Jackson Tarfur, 28, both of the Westmont area of South Los Angeles, "serve as the, if not one of the main sources of supply of fentanyl powder and methamphetamine distributed in the Alvarado Corridor and MacArthur Park, generally on behalf of the 18th Street Gang."

Moreno-Lopez and Tarfur hand-delivered narcotics to the Alvarado Corridor near MacArthur Park for stashing in storefronts and subsequent distribution to street-level drug dealers. Moreno-Lopez and Tarfur use their Westmont residence as a stash location for illegal drugs prior to delivering them to MacArthur Park.

Law enforcement also identified Yolanda Iriarte-Avila, 40, of Calabasas, as a source of supply of methamphetamine for Moreno-Lopez, via Iriarte-Avila's boyfriend, Jesus Morales-Landel, 33, of the Exposition Park area of South Los Angeles, who is a street-level drug dealer in the MacArthur Park area. Iriarte-Avila uses her residence as a stash location for subsequent drug distribution.

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

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Moreno-Lopez, Tarfur, Iriarte-Avila, and Morales-Landel would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The remaining defendants each would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division's Southern California Drug Task Force (SCDTF), a DEA-led multi-agency task force within the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program, and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren E. Border and Joshua J. Lee of the Transnational Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.