Pot bust is one of largest

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

One of the largest marijuana seizures in Santa Barbara County history occurred last Friday when narcotics officers from the county sheriff’s department seized 61,000 marijuana plants near Twitchell Reservoir that have an estimated street value of $195 million.
The plants, which ranged in size from one to eight feet and covered a three-mile area, were discovered by a county sheriff’s helicopter crew during a routine flying patrol, said Sgt. Erik Raney.


“This seizure represents one of the largest marijuana seizures in recent history for Santa Barbara County,” Raney said. “Totals for 2006 marijuana seizures in Santa Barbara County were less than half as much.”
Raney said the growing operation was located a short distance from a riverbed, and that water from the river was used in an “elaborate system of gravity fed irrigation.”
“By the appearance of the camps, the elaborate set up of the operation and the amount of trash and debris found in the area; it appears that the area has been used to grow marijuana for several seasons,” Raney said.
He said no weapons were found, but ammunition was.
When authorities returned to the area at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday to search for additional marijuana fields, Raney said three suspects, all of whom are Mexican nationals, were arrested for various infractions unrelated to the marijuana garden.
Fransisco Hinojosa, 35, was charged with being an unlicensed driver and obstructing justice. Rafael L. Zavala, 26, and Pedro Alvarez, 33, were both charged with providing false information to a peace officer.
Raney said all three men were placed on immigration holds by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It is suspected the individuals were involved in the marijuana cultivation, and the investigation is ongoing,” Raney said.
He sad Zavala and Hinojosa have been deported before and could face felony immigration charges as a result.
Raney said marijuana cultivation on public and private lands in California is a growing problem that threatens the safety of residents and harms the environment.
“The increasingly large and sophisticated marijuana plantations are very often the work of dangerous drug cartels, and forest visitors or residents who happen upon them may be harassed or assaulted,” Raney said. “The growers are usually armed, sometimes with automatic weapons and high-power rifles, and they have been known to place booby-traps designed to seriously maim or kill intruders.”
Raney said suspected “marijuana grows” in the county should be reported to the Sheriff’s Narcotic Bureau at 737-7945 in the north county, or 681-4175 in the south county.
The bust narrowly precedes a stop in California by John P. Walters, director of national drug control policy and President Bush’s “Drug Czar,” who is set to visit Shasta County where he will conduct a marijuana eradication site visit on Thursday.
“America’s public lands are under attack,” Walters said in a statement. “Instead of being appreciated as national treasures, they are being exploited and destroyed by foreign drug trafficking organizations and heavily armed Mexican marijuana cartels who have turned them into ground zero for drug cultivation. These violent drug traffickers are endangering America’s outdoor enthusiasts and sportsmen, and the sensitive ecosystems of our wilderness.”