News & Columns > G.T. Houts > Federal Drug Charges Filed (Photo Update)

Federal Drug Charges Filed (Photo Update)

Held at Central Detention Center in San Bernardino

By G.T. Houts
Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Helicopters were used to fly seized marijuana plants from the Big Bear Creek area on Tuesday to a secure area for eventual destruction. (Photo by San Bernardino County Sheriff.)

Nets were used to gather up over 3,000 marijuana plants in the Big Bear Creek area on Tuesday. The harvested plants were airlifted by helicopter to a secure area off Highway 18. (Photo by San Bernardino County Sheriff.)

Over 3,000 marijuana plants were placed in dumpsters during a second seizure in the Big Bear Creek area near Big Bear on Tuesday. The plants were eventually destroyed by agents. (Photo by San Bernardino County Sheriff.)

San Bernardino, CA – Seven suspects have been arraigned on federal drug charges after federal, state and local law enforcement agencies seized over 60,000 marijuana plants in a series of raids.

All of the suspects are being held without bail at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino on charges of cultivation of marijuana in excess of 1,000 plants, conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and conspiracy and possession of firearms on federal property.

Central Detention Center (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Last week, agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, San Bernardino and Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and the California Department of Justice Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) took part in the operations stretching from Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear to the Santa Rosa Mountains.

Over 5,000 plants and two arrests were made on Wednesday (August 13) in a canyon northwest of Lake Arrowhead (Near Silverwood Lake). On Thursday (August 14) law enforcement officers conducted a raid on a plantation in a drainage west of Big Bear Lake resulting in five arrests and the confiscation of over 15,000 marijuana plants. This is addition to the over 40,000 plants removed in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains in the past two weeks.

United States Forest Service Special Agents did not disclose the names of those arrested in the operation, nor how the marijuana plantations were located. However, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department did release the names of five individuals arrested during the operations.

The Big Bear suspects listed by the Sheriff's Department are: Huver Saustegui Salazar, 22; Raul Gomez Salazar, 20; Raul Cervantes Salazar, 19; Alonso Sarmiento Gonzalez, 33, and Sergio Martinez Alvares, 23. A media advisory noted several other suspects fled the area on foot as officers converged on the grow sites.

Deputies identified the Silverwood Lake suspects at Timoteo Portillo, 19, and Homar Rodriguez Sauceda, 25, both of Apple Valley.

During the investigation, authorities searched three different campsites and recovered two firearms (a 9mm rifle and a 22 caliber rifle). The suspects were found to be wearing camouflage and dark colored clothing in an apparent attempt to hide from law enforcement representatives.

A news release issued by the US Forest Service indicated illegal marijuana grow operations jeopardize the fragile ecosystems of the forests. "For every acre of forest planted with marijuana, ten acres are damaged," the release stated. "The human footprint on pristine forestland at a large-scale marijuana grow site can leave behind several tons of garbage, biohazard refuse, and toxic waste. Erosion is also a problem, as small streams and other water sources are diverted for irrigating the marijuana fields and the land is compacted."

Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials have been cooperating at unprecedented levels to address this problem. California's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) is a multi-agency law enforcement task force managed by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and composed of local, State and Federal agencies.

CAMP agents are broken into five teams covering Northern, Central, and Southern California regions. CAMP members are assisted in their eradication efforts by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, the California National Guard, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California State Parks, and dozens of county sheriff agencies and local police departments.

A spokesperson for the US Forest Service told RIMOFTHEWORLD.net, arrests were made in 18 different California forests last year totaling 54 suspects.

For further information about the investigations, contact Forest Service Special Agent in Charge, Ron Pugh at (707) 562-8648.

The investigation is ongoing and individuals with information are asked to call the Sheriff's Narcotic Division at (909) 890-4840 or WeTip at (800) 782-7463.