Overview
- Federal, state and local agents carried out a coordinated operation on Oct. 8 that served more than 40 search warrants, made multiple arrests and led to 28 people being charged in federal drug cases.
- Officials said investigators seized fentanyl, meth, cocaine, firearms, cash and vehicles and that many alleged dealers came from outside Los Angeles.
- Skid Row residents and advocacy groups held a news conference saying the raids blocked access to tents, medication and buildings and frightened elderly and disabled people.
- U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli defended the operation as judicially authorized and vowed continued enforcement while Councilmember Ysabel Jurado has asked law enforcement for answers and clarified she supports holding traffickers accountable.
- The dispute highlights a longer debate over whether policing or investment in permanent housing, medical care and harm-reduction services will better protect Skid Row’s roughly 50-block population of about 6,000 unhoused people.