Six people were arrested and nearly a ton and a half of marijuana was seized near El Capitan State Beach Friday when local law enforcement intercepted a shipment being offloaded from a panga boat, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
The arrests early Friday were the result of an on-going investigation into the illegal trafficking of drugs from Mexico, said sheriff’s Sgt. Mark A. Williams.
Four of those arrested were from Southern California and two were from Mexico, and all were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of transportation of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, Williams said.
Taken into custody were Habel Martinez Herrera, 43, and Marco Antonio Rangel, 30, both of Mexico; David Arredondo, 26, Martin Guzman, 29, and Mauricio Brito, 21, all of Compton, Calif.; and Deiber Chavez, 26, of Los Angeles, Williams said.
The enforcement action was conducted by the sheriff’s Special Investigations Bureau - Narcotics Unit, with the assistance of the department’s SWAT team, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the CHP and California State Parks officers.
Williams said the 1,400 pounds of marijuana that was seized has a street value of $4.2 million.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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