Crime

About 2,000 pounds of marijuana seized from panga boat smugglers

Tribune staff - newsroom@thetribunenews.com
Drug-sniffing K-9s Jack and Nico helped with the seizure of these 53 bales of marijuana during an investigation into a panga boat found Wednesday at Montaña de Oro. The van was also seized by investigators; it's advertising a fake business, the Sheriff's Office said.
Drug-sniffing K-9s Jack and Nico helped with the seizure of these 53 bales of marijuana during an investigation into a panga boat found Wednesday at Montaña de Oro. The van was also seized by investigators; it's advertising a fake business, the Sheriff's Office said. SLO County Sheriff's Office

Nearly 2,000 pounds of marijuana were seized Wednesday after a panga boat drug-smuggling operation in Montaña de Oro State Park was interrupted by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office released the figures Thursday in a news release.

The street value of the 53 bales of marijuana seized is $1.3 million.

Fifteen suspects, one of them a minor, are being held at the San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of transporting marijuana for sale, possession of marijuana for sale and conspiracy.

Three of the suspects are American citizens, one is a Mexican citizen in the U.S. legally, and the rest are citizens of Mexico, Honduras or Guatemala; the majority of them live in Southern California, according to the Sheriff's Office. Click here to see photos of the suspects »

This story was originally published May 30, 2013 at 1:51 PM with the headline "About 2,000 pounds of marijuana seized from panga boat smugglers."

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