Multi-county bust yields $1.7B in pot

SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST — On Blue Ridge, northeast of Porterville, the nearly 7,000 emerald green marijuana plants that criminal drug organizations planted this spring and tucked away under dense brush were ripped out July 14.

Tulare County Sheriff’s Department detectives belly-crawled — or swung into the garden on long ropes dangling from helicopters — to pull out each plant hand by hand. Although it was clear that the criminal growers planned to return, evidenced by the sophisticated irrigation systems running through the remote area, the detectives were able to destroy a year’s worth of good crop before it could be harvested.

“We’re making a very large dent,” Tulare County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Marsh Carter said while standing in the midst of a pile of empty sardine cans and bottles of toxic fertilizers left behind by growers. “Every plant we rip out is another plant that is not going to make it down to our local streets or to the big cities.”

 The Blue Ridge garden was in some of the most rugged terrain that members of local, state and federal agencies climbed into during the past three weeks while destroying 432,271 plants — worth $1.7 billion — in stretches of the Sierra Nevada in Tulare, Fresno and Madera counties. For the first time, the Central Valley counties teamed up for what have traditionally been solo efforts to reclaim the land, and to arrest 97 people on state and federal charges — mostly all Mexican nationals, according to Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims.

The task force, called Operation Trident and labeled the “latest and largest yet of multi-agency eradication operations,” was represented Thursday morning in Fresno by Gil Kerlikowske, who directs the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wanger, Mims, Madera County Sheriff John P. Anderson and Tulare County Sheriff Bill Wittman. They released details about the operation after embargoing information while carrying out the three week sting which wraps up today.

With a pool of resources, the sheriffs were able to devastate large-scale marijuana gardens, and also removed 15.5 tons of trash contaminating the public lands. The operation rid public land of toxic fertilizers and dealt blows to the Mexican cartels that infiltrate the mountains to feed their illegal businesses. According to Wanger, federal prosecutors are using a more aggressive enforcement approach this year by charging those arrested in the bust with offenses ranging from immigration crimes to conspiracy to distribute marijuana to degredation of public lands.

“Drug traffickers who operate large marijuana grows on public lands in the Sierra foothills spoil the environment and pose a safety threat to hikers, campers, and other persons who use our parks and national forests. Operation Trident is the latest example of excellent cooperation among federal, state and local agencies in combating this menace,” he said.

Along with the plants, law enforcement personnel seized 499 pounds of processed marijuana, 74 ounces of cocaine, 49 ounces of methamphetamine, $1,450 in cash, 33 weapons and two vehicles. Of the 97 people arrested, the Department of Justice charged 18 with felony charges related to the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana. Cultivating in excess of 1,000 marijuana plants is punishable by a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years, a maximum term of life in prison and a maximum fine of $4 million, Wanger said.
Three others were charged in three separate cases with illegal possession of firearms. While investigating those three cases, agents seized 73,409 marijuana plants, 3 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 2 kilograms of cocaine, 16 firearms and one vehicle.

An additional 34 defendants who were arrested during Operation Trident have been charged with federal criminal immigration offenses. The federal cases have resulted in 24 convictions to date, while additional defendants are being prosecuted by the District Attorneys in Tulare, Fresno and Madera.

“To protect their lucrative crop, the growers often arm themselves with dangerous weapons. The hundreds of agents and officers who participated in Operation Trident are to be commended for significantly disrupting the illegal cultivation of marijuana in our public parks and forests. We will continue our efforts to completely dismantle those illegal activities,” Wanger said.

According to Kerlikowske, there are seven states well known for having their public lands blanketed in marijuana gardens, and California is leading the eradication charge by providing the most coordinated efforts. The Sheriffs made it clear Thursday that while the three-pronged operation officially ends today, they will work together continuously throughout the year to prosecute more suspects.  

“I know we haven’t found all the grows,” Mims said. “I want the criminals out there to know that they can’t rest.”

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.