Feds bust massive Skid Row criminal network in series of raids — as 100-strong convoy storms America’s filthiest neighborhood

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Federal agents chased down and arrested 28 suspected drug dealers on Thursday in a massive early morning takedown aimed at cleaning up LA’s filthy Skid Row.

Dozens of FBI agents and cops conducted two raids, with one targeting alleged distributors of fentanyl, meth, cocaine and PCP at their homes, followed by a midmorning sweep of Skid Row that netted a number of street pushers.

Investigators seized dope, guns and luxury cars, making numerous arrests in cases that detailed the slippery tactics used by drug peddlers in the sale of deadly drugs, such as using disguises, storefronts and sidewalk tents to hide the activity from police.

Before dawn, an FBI convoy descended on the Pasadena home of alleged cocaine dealer Manuel Vaughns, where agents carrying automatic weapons used flash-bang grenades to clear the property and called for four suspects to come out.

“What’s your problem?,” one of two suspects taken into custody asked the FBI men as he was placed into handcuffs. “Your mom’s selling drugs.”

Neighbors said they were unaware of any crimes taking place at the run-down home on Summit Avenue, which had gleaming low-riders automobiles parked out front.

“All they do there is work on their cars all say,” said one resident.

Other alleged dealers sought Thursday included:

• Rodney Thomas, 55, a.k.a. “Jamaica,” of Los Angeles
• Charles McIntyre, 65, of Los Angeles
• Dwayne Richards, 62, of Los Angeles
• Larry Pitre, 70, a.k.a. “Kat Daddy,” of Studio City;
• Malcolm Dehughes, 32, of Long Beach;
• Lionel Nelson, 57, a.k.a. “Popeye,” of Watts;
• Irigia Bowman, 58, of Los Angeles; and
• Kevin Fountain, 38, of Helendale.

Authorities said Thursday’s takedowns were meant to strike a decisive blow against the illicit drug trade that fuels crime and addiction in Skid Row, after federal agents and police conducted similar operations targeting downtown’s MacArthur Park.

Members of the DEA and LAPD joined the FBI in a series of exhaustive investigations before the sweep, using phone taps, undercover officers and drones to identify and collect evidence against Skid Row’s key drug dealers and suppliers of narcotics.

More than two dozen alleged dealers were identified in all, who used tactics that ranged from selling drugs from a Mercedes, to posing as homeless men who lived in tents, which were in reality drug dens.

Other pushers allegedly used storefronts to sell drugs, according to court papers. Some posed as social workers or homeless services providers, prosecutors said. Dealers also used SRO units and low-income housing to stash their drugs.

Skid Row occupies roughly 50 city blocks in downtown LA, with warehouses, grimy businesses and low-budget restaurants and bodegas populating the buildings there. As many as 6,000 homeless people live there, on the street and in shelters.

The neighborhood is known as a locus of crime and misery, with its filthy blocks long resisting cleanup by authorities. Many have died there, including actress Daveigh Chase, who passed away in June after years of addiction and homelessness.

A convoy of roughly 100 law enforcement vehicles entered the area Thursday, with police and federal agents cordoning off blocks and parks known as drug spots, trapping dealers and taking them into custody.

Forty-four search warrants were being served in all, with at least 14 suspects taken into custody by 9 a.m.

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