Pot bust is second in past week

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Days after authorities announced one of the largest marijuana busts in Santa Barbara County history, a local rancher stumbled across a marijuana harvesting operation in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Armed with a rifle and on the prowl for coyotes, the rancher came across eight men walking out of the brush on his property on Happy Canyon Road, wearing camouflage and carrying military-style duffel bags, County Sheriff’s Department Spokesman Erik Raney said.
“He assumed they were poachers and ordered them to stop,” Raney said. “The rancher checked one of the bags and observed that it was full of marijuana.”
After the rancher caught a glimpse of their illegal contraband, the eight men scattered, leaving several bags behind, Raney said, adding that deputies recovered about 100 pounds of pot from the scene.
A search with K-9 units and off-road vehicles didn’t turn up any suspects, authorities said.
“This incident serves as a reminder to ranchers, resident and visitors to our backcountry,” Raney said. “Individuals involved in the cultivation, harvest and production of marijuana and other illegal narcotics can be extremely dangerous. Growers are often armed and marijuana fields are often booby trapped.”
Raney said anyone who stumbles across a suspected pot farm should leave immediately and contact local authorities.