Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
On Thursday, March 12, 2020, at approximately 3:30 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office Cannabis Compliance Team Detectives, Narcotics Detectives, K9 Units and County Air Support Unit along with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, and California State Parks responded to the area of Gaviota Beach and Hollister Ranch to investigate information provided by the United States Coast Guard that a possible panga boat was heading that way.
The law enforcement team contacted numerous suspected transnational smugglers, who were in the process of unloading a 50-foot panga boat that had been beached about a half-mile north of Gaviota, near Hollister Ranch.
As a result of the contact there have been 20 arrests made, numerous plastic burlap style bags containing approximately 5,300 pounds of dried marijuana recovered as well as over 40 gallons of marijuana crude oil seized. The panga boat and all arrestees were released to agents from the Department of Homeland Security and transported to a federal detention facility.
The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office participates in the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Stonegarden Program, which helps to offset costs incurred by the Sheriff’s Office while protecting our local communities from the impacts of transnational smuggling occurring along the Santa Barbara County coastline.
Does this count as a cruise ship that needs to be banned?
Interesting, where are all those people that claimed the cartel panga’s would disappear after legalization?
Probably the same folks that think building a wall will stop people and drugs coming in.
They should sell the drugs and use for treatment center funding.
@Edhat- yeah, those cartel growers only use the finest fertilizers and pesticides…. LOL
Can you imagine the size of the brownie you could make with all that weed 🙂
How do you know where this stuff was headed? It could be on its way to Utah or ID or another Far-Right Utopia of freedom and freeze peach.
I’m seeing no Edhat comments here deserving of of all your up votes…maybe you should address EHDAT.
Oh, gosh. I sure hope we don’t lock up all these poor refugees only here seeking asylum from their civil-rights violating, dictator-ruled, and otherwise oppressive countries into those horrible cages and then be subjected ghastly ICE abuse. Please, set them free so they can become productive, economic-contributing, well-educated members of our society from down south of the border.
5,300 lbs…. Duuuuuude!
Get out of your basement much?
Two Sheriff departments, CHP, State Parks, and Homeland Security involved. Five law enforcement agencies not counting the Coast Guard. No wonder government is so expensive. In the end, they are all handed over to Homeland Security so that sound more like deportation not prosecution.
I bet for every one they catch, many more get through. Especially if it takes this many Sheriffs to change a lightbulb
What a shame.
Until most states legalize weed, the cartel marines will continue their assault.