| Nature of Incident: |
Narcotics Sales Arrest |
| Report Number: |
24-144890 |
| Location: |
20500 block of Ventura Blvd- Woodland Hills
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| Date & Time: |
November 13, 2024 1820 hours
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| Unit(s) Responsible: |
Ventura County Fentanyl and Overdose Crimes Units (VC FOCUS), Thousand Oaks Police Directed Enforcement Unit (DEU)
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| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence
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Age |
(S) Ronald Joseph
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Woodland Hills
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24
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| Narrative: |
The Ventura County Fentanyl and Overdose Crimes Units (VC FOCUS) concluded an investigation with the arrest of Ronald Joseph who was responsible for selling counterfeit Oxycodone “M-30” pharmaceutical pills containing fentanyl to Ventura County residents.
VC FOCUS learned that Joseph was advertising illicit fentanyl pills utilizing his social media account. Detectives contacted Joseph on social media and set up undercover purchases of these pills. Detectives also conducted surveillance of Joseph and determined he had a network of customers within Ventura County he was delivering to.
On November 12, 2024, detectives detained Joseph in Newbury Park as he attempted to conduct a narcotics deal and served a search warrant at his apartment in Woodland Hills. As a result of the investigation, detectives seized just over 1000 counterfeit M-30 Pills and a handgun. Joseph is a convicted felon and documented gang member from Los Angeles County. He is also currently on active CDCR Parole.
Joseph was arrested for a variety of drug charges including Possession for Sales of Controlled Substances, Sales of Controlled Substances, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon and Possession of Ammunition by a Prohibited Person. He was booked into the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility and arraigned on his charges on November 18, 2024. He is ineligible for bail due to his Parole status.
VC FOCUS is a task force made up of Ventura County regional law enforcement agencies, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, and federal law enforcement partners. The primary mission of this partnership is to combat fentanyl related crimes and opioid overdoses by targeting the supply chain of individuals and criminal organizations responsible for the sales of these drugs into Ventura County. In addition, the task force works to identify new trends of abuse among the younger population and educate the community at large on the lethal danger of this epidemic.
Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. As little as 2 Milligrams of fentanyl is considered to be a lethal dose of this deadly drug. Counterfeit M-30 (Oxycodone) pills are highly abused and often contribute to fatal and non-fatal overdoses within Ventura County. These counterfeit pills are mass produced by drug cartels and sold throughout the United States for large profits. The pills look identical to legitimate medications and are mixed with fentanyl. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) estimates that six out of every ten pills seized by law enforcement agencies across the United States are counterfeit and contain fentanyl which make them extremely dangerous to the community
VC FOCUS has partnered with Ventura County Behavioral Health as an active member of the County Overdose Awareness & Solutions Team (COAST) in a campaign to reduce overdoses and educate the public about the dangers of opioids and other drugs. Comprehensive information can be found at www.ThinkAgainVC.com
The public may contact investigators from the VC FOCUS at (805) 383-8700 or [email protected] with additional information about this case, or any other information related to narcotics.
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| Prepared by: |
Sergeant John Hajducko |
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| News Release Date: |
November 21, 2024 |
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| Media Follow-Up Contact: |
Detective Levon Boghosian
805-383-8700
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| Approved by: |
Captain Ron Chips |
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