OXNARD : Police Arrest 6 in Probe of Drug Ring

An Oxnard man was sitting in his car in a parking lot on Vineyard Avenue counting his money when he was arrested Tuesday night for selling cocaine and heroin to an undercover officer, authorities said.

The arrests of 37-year-old Eduardo Camariyo and five other Oxnard residents culminated a three-month investigation into a wholesale narcotics ring.

A confidential informant tipped police to the ring, which acted as a drug delivery service.

“What’s unusual about this group is that most delivery services deal in street-level amounts--that is, grams,” Sheriff’s Lt. Craig Husband said. “This group was dealing ounces of heroin.”

After arresting Camariyo, deputies served search warrants at houses in the 1400 block of West Hull Place, the 2700 block of Raft Lane and the 1270 block of N Street in Oxnard. At those locations, they arrested Juan Munoz-Castro, Ruben Espinoza, Silvia Guerrero, Everado Herrera and Jorge Garcia for sales and conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine.

All are being held at the Ventura County Jail, with bail ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 for each suspect.

During the raids, narcotics officers seized a quarter of a pound of heroin valued at $19,000 and a pound of cocaine valued at $13,000, along with $11,000 in cash, and three handguns and a shotgun.

Husband said the ring sold large quantities of the drugs to smaller dealers.

“We like to concentrate on these wholesale dealers because it ties up everyone down the line, from the dealers they sell to to the users,” he said.

Husband said he expects more arrests in the case.