Story perspectives

Operation Save Skid Row Arrests 23 Drug Dealers, Seizes Fentanyl

By Drooid · Oct 9, 2026, 4:45 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Federal agents and LAPD arrested 23 drug dealers in Operation Save Skid Row.
Agents executed 44 search warrants across Los Angeles County.
They seized fentanyl, meth, PCP, crack, heroin, firearms, cash and luxury vehicles.
Main Street Crips, Grape Street Crips and Pueblo Bishop Bloods were linked.
Defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

History

Historical Context

Facing a surge in gang violence that had risen since the 1960s and spiked during the 1980s crack epidemic, LAPD Chief Daryl Gates launched Operation Hammer in April 1987. Led by the CRASH unit, the sweep arrested 1,453 suspects in a single weekend in April 1988 and fed a database of over 100,000 names, paving the way for later federal-local “tough-on-crime” policies such as three-strikes laws.

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Story summary

Federal agents and LAPD arrested 23 drug dealers in Operation Save Skid Row.
Agents executed 44 search warrants across Los Angeles County.
They seized fentanyl, meth, PCP, crack, heroin, firearms, cash and luxury vehicles.
Main Street Crips, Grape Street Crips and Pueblo Bishop Bloods were linked.
Defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

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