SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) — A month-long investigation ended Thursday with more than a half dozen arrests during raids in North County.
Officers moved in on five homes early Thursday morning.
Ari Soltani was at the center of the undercover investigation, which authorities said started as a drug investigation, but quickly grew into something much bigger.
"So far, we've found in excess of 10 assault rifles – AR-15-type rifles that can penetrate body armor, hand guns, silencers, high-capacity magazines and a large quantity of methamphetamine and marijuana," said San Diego Sheriff's Dept. P.I.O. Ryan Keim.
Authorities said they also found steroids, thousands of rounds of ammunition and some explosives.
"All in all, it's a fantastic search warrant, that's really going to make the community safer," Keim said.
SWAT officers from multiple agencies, working with Vista's Gang Enforcement Team, showed up around 6 a.m. Thursday morning at Soltani's home on Stratton Drive in Vista.
They also raided four other homes in Vista and Oceanside, and arrested a total of 7 people- one adult female and six adult males - for outstanding arrest warrants, child endangerment, and various firearm and drug related charges.
A child located in one of the residences was taken into protective custody.
Soltani is a longtime Vista resident - who was known for starting a boxing club in Vista, which was the site of a murder in 2010.
Several neighbors said the raid didn't come as a surprise and that they suspected questionable activities were happening at the home.
Despite all the guns and ammunition in the home, authorities said no shots were fired and the arrests took place without incident.
"Everything went successfully," said Keim. "There's no injuries. At the end of the day, that's what we want - [to] be safe, no deputies injured, nobody at the house injured - and that's what happened today."