October 5, 2023 - Tulare County Sheriff's Office officials report that for the past three months, the Tulare County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Taskforce (TNT HIDTA) has been conducting an investigation into a drug-trafficking organization operating in Earlimart.
On September 25, 2023, investigators searched nine properties, arrested five people and found 132 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 842 grams of cocaine, 2 kilos of heroine, 62,200 fentanyl pills and 818 marijuana plants. Investigators also discovered and dismantled an active meth conversion lab, which contained liquid meth in various stages of conversion to crystal meth. The drugs had a value of about $1.7 million. Investigators also seized $10,000, 10 guns and stolen property worth about $180,000.
The operation included help from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office (TNT HIDTA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA Fresno), the Visalia Police Department, the Porterville Police Department, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol –TRATT, the California Army National Guard, the California Department of Justice – HITT, the Los Angeles Police Department - Harbor Narcotics Unit, the California Department of Justice - Special Operations Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Los Angeles Field Office, the California Department of Justice -Bureau of Forensic Science (BFS) and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
The Tulare County HIDTA Task Force is based in Tulare County and consists of Detectives from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, the Visalia Police Department, the Porterville Police Department, the Woodlake Police Department, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Farmersville Police Department, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office, and Special Agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 733-6218.
Source & photos: Tulare County Sheriff's Office
