Two men suspected of trying to sell marijuana on skid row arrested

Two men were arrested with 60 pounds of marijuana that police believe they were going to sell on skid row hours after the Los Angeles city attorney announced an injunction aimed at curbing so-called commuter drug dealers who travel to the area to sell their goods, authorities said.

LAPD Lt . Paul Vernon said investigators, acting on a tip, arrested Hector Cabrera, 33, and his passenger, Fernando Padilla, 38, last Wednesday as they sat in their car at a Bunker Hill apartment building. A third adult was questioned and released.

“It didn't take the detectives long to realize they had the right car,'' Vernon said. "There was so much weed in the car, they could smell it when they approached the driver's window."

Detectives seized marijuana valued at at least $24,000 and as much as $100,000 if sold on the streets in small amounts, Vernon said.

"This marijuana was destined for Skid Row,'' Vernon said. "It is both ironic and tragic that the country's largest recovery area is also the region's biggest drug bazaar.''

The city attorney’s office announced last week that it would seek a criminal injunction specifically targeting 80 named drug dealers who try to do business in the area.

-- Richard Winton

Comments

[ROL333]

Trying to stop weed smoking in Skid Row is like trying to hold back the ocean's waves at the beach!!!

[Seanangians]

Is the article wrong or were these guys just selling oregano? 60 lbs seems like it should be going for more than $24k...

[Desi]

How convenient. Just after they pass the bogus injunction they just haooen to come accross a car full of weed om its way to skid row (how could they know that?).

[Tigerloose]

So today the police seized 60 lbs. Today in So. Ca. 1000 lbs. was smoked. Another 10,000 lbs. transited through to the rest of the country. The police won't get another good bust for weeks but the smugglers and dealers will move the same weight every day.

The "War on Drugs" price tag tells me that each of the 60 lbs. caught today cost $1,000,000.00 to nab.

When the government decided to wage war on drugs they decided to not win the war. They did this because any time you create a government agency the first order of business for the agency is to figure out how to maintain their jobs and increase their sphere of influence and grow their budget. After all, if they win the war they will not be needed to fight the war.

So as a result we get a beleaguered attempt to control drugs and leave the door wide open to Mexico. We get to fill our prisons with people convicted of pot crimes and let serious criminals out of prison to run wild.

Legalize pot. Tax pot. Take the profit away from the Mexicans. Focus on the tons of methamphetamine, heroin, guns and illegals that cross the border every day. Seal the border. And don't give me any crap about how hard it is to do. If we can't seal the border we should contract it out to the North Koreans.

[gl21]

poor homeless people can't even smoke the weed.

cops here need to be doing something else.

legalize it.

[Frank Courser]

The same Police force that complains they have to cut back homicide investigations for lack of man power, yet can bust people for weed on skid row? Saving us all from what?