A total of eight men were taken into custody in connection with a widescale narcotics delivery service operating in parts of the Southland. 

Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Street Team detectives first learned of the delivery service operating in parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties in July, authorities said in a press release. 

Their five-month investigation found that a “transnational drug trafficking organization” was using an elaborate system of drivers and dispatchers to supply Ventura County residents with cocaine. 

“Drug trafficking organizations like this…are structured to sell their drugs to as many customers and across as wide of geographical area as possible,” VCSO officials said.

Traffickers tend to organize their operations in similar ways, authorities said, employing a chain of command that ranges from delivery drivers all the way up to what is known as the “Cell Head.” 

Preliminary investigation revealed that two men – 40-year-old Joel Cruz Ayala and 28-year-old Elmer Ayala-Ayala, both of Bakersfield – were working for the organization as “full-time dispatchers,” and another man from Panorama City, identified as 33-year-old Luis Cruz, served as the “dispatch house manager” who had direct communication with high-ranking members of the organization in El Salvador, according to law enforcement officials. 

Multiple drivers were observed delivering drugs to multiple customers throughout Ventura County, deputies said, and investigators were able to determine that the delivery system was supplying cocaine to hundreds of residents daily. 

Five of the drivers were arrested after search warrants were executed on Thursday at several residences in Panorama City and North Hills.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office identified them as: 

• Wilfredo Mauricio Benavides Castillo, 24, of North Hills 
• Lisandro Moreno, 22, of Panorama City 
• Kevin Bonilla, 20, of Panorama City 
• Jose Samuel Ayala Hernandez, 40, of North Hills 
• Noel Ovidio Cruz Alfaro, 31, of Panorama City 

All five men were each found in possession of a large amount of pre-packaged cocaine that was “ready to be delivered,” deputies said.

According to VCSO, Joel Cruz, Elmer Ayala-Ayala and Luis Cruz were all located and arrested at various locations in Bakersfield. 

“A significant amount of evidence was located exposing their large-scale transnational drug trafficking organization,” officials said. “Including money transfers to higher-ranking members of the organization in El Salvador.” 

VCSO is still investigating other leads with the aim of completely dismantling the narcotics delivery system and acknowledged that while their recently finished probe “will greatly disrupt [the] organization,” they know that their work is not over.

“While the Sheriff’s Office recognizes the public health threat posed by the current opioid crisis, we also remain vigilant against the damage caused to our communities by all other forms of illegal narcotics, including cocaine,” law enforcement officials said. 

In addition to the arrest of the eight men, over five pounds of cocaine, five firearms and “a significant amount” of suspected drug proceeds were seized, authorities confirmed.