3 Valley Men Arrested in Raids on Drug Ring

Three San Fernando Valley men were arrested in a series of raids in Los Angeles and Kern counties aimed at a drug ring that law enforcement officials said was manufacturing about $2 million in methamphetamine a week.

“It’s a good-sized seizure,” Gary Skogen, a Los Angeles narcotics detective, said Thursday.

Nine locations in Los Angeles, Kern and Ventura counties were raided Wednesday.

Rudolfo Covarrubias, 41, of Arleta, as well as Luis Enrique Chavez, 44 and Manuel Oyarzabal, 26, both of Lake View Terrace, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance, authorities said. Bail was set at $2 million each.

The ring’s drug lab was discovered in a barn in a remote desert area about 10 miles from Interstate 5 and California 138 in Kern County, authorities said.

About 240 pounds of methamphetamine valued at more than $10 million were seized at the lab site, they said, along with more than $28,000 in cash and a cache of weapons, including two semiautomatic assault rifles.

Narcotics agents also raided two addresses in Lake View Terrace and houses in Arleta, Pacoima, Sylmar and Van Nuys, and Santa Paula in Ventura County.