Ventura County and federal law enforcement officials thwarted the efforts of a notorious Mexican drug cartel by seizing more than $10.8 million worth of illegal drugs and arresting the alleged leader of a network suspected of selling them, authorities said Tuesday.

Containers full of 121 pounds of cocaine, 161 pounds of methamphetamine, 13.2 pounds of heroin, 6.6 pounds of fentanyl and 600 fentanyl pills were displayed on tables behind Ventura County Undersheriff Gary Pentis as he announced law enforcement’s disruption of a Sinaloa drug cartel.

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The bust represents the far-reaching arms and abundant presence of international drug traffickers.

“All the dope that’s not homegrown weed basically is coming through cartel action south of our border in Mexico,” Pentis said at a news conference at the East Valley Sheriff’s Station in Thousand Oaks.

The Ventura County Combined Agency Task Force, which includes state, local and federal officials, investigated the case. At Tuesday’s news conference, representatives were present from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Oxnard Police Department, Simi Valley Police Department and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The undersheriff said he thinks the dollar loss and the arrest of Omar Rangel, the alleged boss a Los Angeles-based trafficking ring selling the cartel’s drugs, will deal a blow to the Mexican organization.

“I think when you cost them this much money and disrupt them at this level, there’s probably more accountability on their side organizationally on who they don’t trust, who’s no longer involved,” Pentis said. “They might lose their life over it. As you all know, cartels play hard ball with their own.”

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While the proceeds of the drug sales may head back to Mexico, the people who buy those drugs locally are getting the cash by taking packages off front porches, stealing mail and items from vehicles, and breaking in to homes through rear sliding doors.

“That’s where the $10 million comes from — our possessions,” Pentis said.

More than $353,000 worth of suspected drug sale proceeds and 12 firearms were also taken during the yearlong investigation, authorities said.

Another priority for the task force was to get fentanyl off the streets, especially in Ventura County, where opioid deaths are on the rise, Pentis said.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is routinely mixed with heroin to increase potency, Pentis said.

Fentanyl was also one of the first drugs to be seized in the investigation, which started in September 2017. It began as a street-level drug bust in the west county, Pentis said.

Then the Ventura County Combined Agency Task Force learned of a person suspected of dealing bulk quantities of narcotics to Ventura County residents, according to authorities.

The apparent source of the drugs was Rangel, 29, of the San Fernando Valley, according to authorities. Rangel allegedly ran a business, which was a stash house for the drugs from the cartel.

Through his network of people from Ventura, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, those drugs were allegedly hidden in vehicles and other houses all around the Los Angeles area until they were sold off to mid-level and low-level drug dealers, Pentis said.

Not all the drugs were headed for Ventura County, he said.

The investigation identified 15 people, including Rangel, who were involved in the trafficking effort allegedly led by him, according to authorities. All 15 have either been arrested or are going to be arrested through pending arrest warrants, authorities said.

Their names and photos were displayed at the news conference. They included a 45-year-old Oxnard woman and a 34-year-old Simi valley man.

In Ventura County, eight people have been charged in connection with felony drug sales. Senior Deputy District Attorney David Russell identified five of them as Rangel, 29, of San Fernando Valley; Nancy Romero, 33, of Canoga Park; Cesar Serrano Alvarez, 30, of Winnetka; Richard Kevin Riley, 48, of Hollywood; and Rhonda Harvey, 48, of Van Nuys.

Russell said he would not disclose the identities of the three others because they have not yet appeared in court in connection with the drug-related charges.

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According to jail records, Rangel was arrested Sept. 14 and booked into Ventura County jail. He was charged with several drug-related felony offenses, according to Ventura County Superior Court records.

Rangel appeared in court in connection with the case but his arraignment hearing was continued to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in Courtroom 14.

A $250,000 bail bond was posted and Rangel was released from jail Sept. 27.

Criminal charges have not been filed against the seven others, in part, because the task force has not submitted those cases for review yet, Russell said. Some of the outstanding cases also fall outside Ventura County’s jurisdiction, he said.