Behind the Badge
A Huntington Beach man suspected of being a local heroin source for high school students and possessing more than $250,000 worth of the drug was arrested on Wednesday.
Huntington Beach police along with agents from the Los Angeles High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group 51 in March 2014 launched an investigation into suspected drug dealer Juan Vidrio.
Vidrio, 26, is suspected of dealing large amounts of heroin in Huntington Beach, and police said the majority of his customers are local teens.
HIDTA Group 51, which is made up of officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Port Police, and Huntington Beach investigators located Vidrio’s supplier, who was living in a nearby Orange County city, police said.
When police arrested Vidrio on Wednesday, he had 20 ounces of heroin “packaged in amounts consistent with mid-level drug trafficking, rather than street level sales,” Huntington Beach Police Capt. William Stuart wrote in a statement.
Another 1.8 grams of cocaine was also found at the residence, Stuart wrote.
The supplier was not arrested, and police said he ran from the location before officers arrived.
The seized heroin represents more than 31,000 doses that would have possibly been sold to Huntington Beach teens, police said.
“Wednesday’s operation is an example of federal and local authorities joining forces to investigate the most insidious drug dealers who target our community’s youth,” Stuart wrote.
Vidrio was booked at the Orange County Jail and is charged with possession of heroin with intent to sell and a probation violation, police said.
He is being held without bail pending a court appearance, police said.
