LAPD and feds conduct drug-busting operation in fentanyl hotspot MacArthur Park
The Los Angeles Police Department and federal agents carried out a joint operation on Thursday afternoon targeting illegal narcotics activity at MacArthur Park, a known hotspot for fentanyl sales and use.
A heavy police presence was visible near the park on 7th Street, including a BearCat military vehicle, while a loudspeaker warned that an active narcotics investigation was underway and that anyone remaining in the area could be detained, searched, and arrested. By 3:30 p.m. local time, at least six people had been arrested on suspicion of narcotics use or sale, according to law enforcement sources not authorized to speak publicly.
LAPD Deputy Chief German Hurtado, who oversees the Central Bureau, said the operation was conducted with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “to clean up the park” by arresting both drug dealers and those under the influence. The LAPD said in a statement on X that the effort is focused solely on drug-related crime and is not connected to immigration enforcement.
MacArthur Park, a working-class area with a large immigrant community west of downtown Los Angeles, has long faced crime and gang activity and in recent years has become an epicenter of the city’s overdose crisis, with federal authorities describing the area around the park as an “open-air drug market.” The sweep follows a similar operation in May, when federal agents and local authorities arrested 18 people, including two believed to be the main sources of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the park, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
