(Image Credit: IMAGN) Port St. Lucie police announced Wednesday, July 19, 2023, that they seized 10,000 fentanyl pills worth $300,000 and a pound of cocaine in the city's largest drug bust to date.
Oxnard, California – Authorities dismantled a major drug trafficking operation in Ventura County with the arrest of Juan Lopez, a 44-year-old Oxnard resident, after a monthlong investigation by the Ventura County Combined Agency Team (VCAT). The investigation focused on Lopez’s alleged involvement in the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout the county. On May 22, 2025, detectives executed search warrants at two locations tied to Lopez — a home in the 200 block of South E Street and a public storage unit in the 200 block of Montgomery Avenue, both in Oxnard.
The searches resulted in the seizure of approximately three pounds of methamphetamine and nearly 850 grams of fentanyl, a highly potent and often deadly synthetic opioid. Investigators also recovered two firearms, ammunition, and a sum of U.S. currency suspected to be proceeds from narcotics sales. Additional items were located that law enforcement classified as consistent with drug trafficking activity. The discovery of the firearms and ammunition was particularly significant, given Lopez’s status as a convicted felon who is legally prohibited from possessing such items.
Following the search and seizure, Lopez was taken into custody and booked at the Ventura County Main Jail. He faces multiple felony charges, including possession for sale of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Jail records also reflect an additional charge related to possession of a firearm by a felon or addict. Lopez remains in custody with bail set at $250,000. He was scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Tuesday.
VCAT is a multi-agency task force composed of local and federal law enforcement officers. The team’s mission is to disrupt and dismantle major and mid-level drug trafficking organizations operating in Ventura County. The task force uses a collaborative approach to target individuals and networks whose illegal drug activities pose a threat to public safety.
The seizure of such large quantities of drugs, along with weapons and drug sale paraphernalia, shows the massive scale of the operation and the potential risk it posed to the community. Authorities continue to emphasize that operations like this one are essential in protecting California residents from the harmful impacts of drug-related crime.
