Federal authorities arrest 18 for alleged drug distribution around Los Angeles park

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents alongside other law enforcement officers work the scene near MacArthur Park after federal authorities made arrests on charges related to selling illicit drugs on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption toggle caption Jae C. Hong/AP LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities said they arrested 18 people Wednesday on charges related to selling illicit drugs including fentanyl and methamphetamine around a Los Angeles park. The area, called MacArthur Park, is a densely populated immigrant neighborhood west of downtown LA where federal immigration authorities and the National Guard made a brief but mighty show of force last summer. In this week's raids, authorities seized 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of fentanyl from a single home, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Two of the people arrested, a couple from South Los Angeles, are believed to be the main sources of those drugs sold in the park, which were stashed in a storefront and distributed to street-level dealers, authorities said. "We're here today because California policy has failed," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference announcing the arrests. "MacArthur Park should be for families, should be for residents of Los Angeles, not for drug dealers and gangsters." Essayli announced the arrests alongside officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles Police Department in the park. …