4 Arrested in Baldwin Park Synthetic Heroin Lab Bust

BALDWIN PARK, CA - Four people were arrested in suspicion of making and selling synthetic heroin after a year-long investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Gary Resnik, 31, of Long Beach, Joseph Stanley, 30, of Huntington Beach, Christopher Bowen, 30, of downtown Los Angeles, and Dylan Simpson, 25, of Fountain Valley, are accused of money laundering for allegedly importing acetyl-fentanyl from China, making their own pills and selling them in bulk.

The men were arrested Tuesday after DEA special agents stormed a single-family home in Baldwin Park. DEA agents allegedly discovered the was equipped with pill presses and variously colored powders that will be tested to determine their chemical compositions, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

There were so many toxic chemicals found in the home that it will have to be destroyed, according to KNX.

The home was next to a daycare center, which have been closed for the time being, KNX reported.

Acetyl-fentanyl is almost identical to the powerful painkiller fentanyl. The chemical -- sometimes called "fake heroin," even though it is significantly more potent that heroin -- is not approved for any use in the United States.

"So-called designer drugs may seem to have a similar effect as traditional narcotics, but these back-alley laboratory concoctions are very dangerous," said Eileen M. Decker, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. "They have caused many deaths in the United States, and this abuse led the DEA to put it on a list of the most dangerous and easily abused drugs in our country."

As part of the investigation discussed in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, authorities in January seized narcotics -- including acetyl-fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, Xanax, hydrocodone pills and ecstasy -- from a man who had allegedly purchased the drugs from members of the drug trafficking organization.

"Fentanyl and its analogues pose a serious public health risk," said DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge David Downing. "Even small doses absorbed through the skin or accidentally inhaled can be fatal."

--City News Service contributed to this report, photo via Pixabay