Glendale Police Arrest 9 in Riverside Drug Raid

Glendale detectives arrested nine people on suspicion of running a methamphetamine lab and seized about $200,000 worth of the drug in a raid Wednesday in an isolated pocket of Riverside County, authorities said.

The eight men and one woman--Mexican nationals believed to have been brought here to make the drug--allegedly worked for a regional ring that operated throughout Los Angeles County, said Glendale Police Lt. Mark Distaso.

Detectives are now searching for the traffickers and ring leaders, he added.

Wednesday’s bust ended a monthlong investigation that began when an informant told Glendale police about the manufacturing operation, Distaso said.

Investigators placed the alleged lab under surveillance Tuesday night and stopped a van leaving the house on Wednesday morning. A drug-sniffing dog discovered 4 pounds of methamphetamine inside the vehicle, according to Distaso.

Later, a search of the house in Calimesa, a town of 7,300 in northwestern Riverside County, turned up 300 pounds of the drug.

“Isolated locations are a standard for this kind of thing,” Distaso said. “It’s more readily concealed and there are no neighbors to complain about odors.”