Escondido sweep nets 10 arrests; pounds of meth

By Pauline Repard
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.

ESCONDIDO — A 10-month investigation into a drug trafficking ring centered in Escondido led to the arrests of 10 people this week by narcotics officers who seized about $185,000 worth of cocaine and methamphetamine, police said.

Officers confiscated a total of 22 pounds of meth and about one pound of cocaine in undercover drug buys and from six homes where search warrants were served on Tuesday, Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter said Friday.

Nine pistols and rifles also were seized at the homes, and a total of nine children living at two of the homes were taken into protective custody.

Carter said the investigation by Escondido police, the countywide Narcotics Task Force and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration continues.

Officers hit the six homes simultaneously Tuesday morning. Carter said Escondido SWAT team members used flash-bang grenades as a diversion while serving one warrant at a home on Kent Street thought to be higher risk because of possible weapons inside.

At the Kent Street home, officers seized one and a half pounds of meth and arrested a man age 44, his wife, age 42, and their children ages 22 and 25 on suspicion of drug trafficking, possessing drugs while armed, willful child cruelty and possessing stolen property, Carter said.

Officers seized three pounds of meth at a home on Beaumont Glen, where a 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drug and immigration violations and possessing stolen goods.

Another two pounds of meth were seized and two people, a 30-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man suspected of drug trafficking and child cruelty were arrested at a Pueblo Glen home.

A 41-year-old man was arrested at a Fern Street home to face immigration charges. A man, age 38, of York Avenue, and a 35-year-old North Escondido Avenue man were arrested on suspicion of drug sales and transportation, Carter said.

pauline.repard@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1865

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