SLO County sheriff seizes $5 million worth of cannabis plants from North County grows
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office arrested five people in connection with a pair of illegal cannabis grows in North County.
Approximately 5,000 plants were confiscated in the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said in a Wednesday news release.
If allowed to mature, the plants would have an estimated retail value of approximately $5 million, according to the news release.
The Sheriff’s Office and partner agencies discovered the two trespass grows in the area of Parkhill Road and Huer Huero Road in late July, the release said. The grows were reportedly spotted by members of the Sheriff’s Office Cannabis Enforcement Unit during a reconnaissance mission.
Evidence at the scenes indicated both grow sites may be part of a Mexican national cultivation operation, according to the release.
Nearby water sources had been diverted to water the cannabis plants, the Sheriff’s Office said. A container of carbofuran, an illegal pesticide, was allegedly located at one of the properties.
Five weapons were also seized, including a fully automatic AK-47 style assault rifle with a 30-round magazine and 100-round drum style magazine, according to the release.
Five men were arrested on suspicion of the grows and several weapons charges. They are Carlos Martinez Espinoza, 35, of Delano; Antonio Mendoza Alvarado, 26, of Delano; Hector Fernando Zepeda Miranda, 36, of Santa Maria; Jaime Rivera Mercado, 44, of Stockton and Benjamin Rivera Mercado, 42, of Lodi.
Due to a zero-bail policy, all persons arrested were released back into the community within eight hours of being booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail, the release said.
Members of the Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit, Sheriff’s Office Cannabis Enforcement Unit, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Homeland Security Investigations, Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, Cal Fire, Code Enforcement, California Department Food and Agriculture, Cal-Cannabis and the U.S. Forest Service Bureau of Land Management were involved in the investigations, according to the release.
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