May 7 (UPI) — Federal law enforcement agents have arrested and charged 18 people accused of selling drugs in and around downtown Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park, according to authorities who say additional drug operations will be conducted.
The 18 people arrested over the last 24 hours in the so-called Operation Free MacArthur Park are among 25 defendants named in a federal criminal complaint charging them with distribution of, and possession with intent too distribute, a controlled substance, the Justice Department said in a statement Wednesday.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California told reporters during a press conference that some 300 federal drug and law enforcement agents participated in the raid and that they “are not going anywhere.”
“This is not a one-and-done operation,” he said. “We are here and we are not leaving.”
Under the fearless leadership of @POTUS, we are crushing the drug trade and saving countless American lives: 25 alleged drug dealers and traffickers have been arrested and federally charged in the last 24 hours.
These defendants and anyone who helps spread the scourge of drugs… pic.twitter.com/mbvTr13KqD— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) May 6, 2026
Located in Los Angeles’ Westlake neighborhood, the historic MacArthur Park is within a densely populated immigrant area and has long been associated with drugs, crime and gangs.
Last summer, it was the backdrop for National Guard and federal agents deployed to the city as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
On Wednesday, it was the location of a similar show of force as heavily armed federal drug and law enforcement agents, with military-style vehicles, conducted raids in and around the park as they sought to arrest those named in the criminal complaint.
Among those arrested were Mallaly Moreno-Lopez, 32, and her boyfriend, Jackson Tarfur, 28, whom authorities believe are the main sources of fentanyl and methamphetamine in MacArthur Park.
The pair are accused of delivering narcotics to the MacArthur Park-adjacent Alvarado Corridor to be stashed in storefronts and then distributed to street-level dealers. Their Westmont residence is allegedly used as a stash location for drugs that are to be sold in MacArthur Park, according to authorities.
The complaint alleges 27 separate drug deals between March 9 and April 15 in and around the MacArthur Park area.
According to authorities, Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration personnel seized about 40 pounds of fentanyl at one defendant’s Calabasas residence.
Seven suspects remained at large, authorities said.
Essayli said they were at MacArthur Park on Wednesday “to liberate it,” while blaming the Democratic-led government of California for allowing the area to become what the Justice Department called an open-air drug market.
“Look, we’re here today because California policies have failed. The policies of California to let people use drugs open and notoriously, with little to no criminal consequences, is a failed experiment,” he said.
“MacArthur Park should be for families, should be for residents of Los Angeles, not for drug dealers and gangsters.”
The Los Angeles Police Department said it assisted the federal agencies in the operation.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event honoring military mothers and spouses in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
