Plumas Lake drug raids net $1M in marijuana
Three people were arrested Thursday morning and more than $1 million in marijuana was seized during simultaneous drug raids in Plumas Lake neighborhoods.
"We are working to identify other people who may be arrested at a later time, possibly," Yuba County sheriff's Lt. Damon Gil said.
Guo Xiong Li, 24, and Jian Xiong Liu, 44, both of Sacramento, were arrested at a home in the 1600 block of Notting Hill Way.
Shi Yuan Kuang, 50, of San Francisco, was arrested at a home in the 3500 block of Indian Clover Street.
A third home was raided in the 1200 block of Colorado Way, but no arrests were made, authorities said.
About 2,500 plants valued at $1.2 million were seized during the raids just before 8 a.m., deputies said.
Authorities said the pot houses had been in operation for at least a year.
The raids conducted by the Sheriff's Department and the NET-5 Task Force were the result of an ongoing investigation by the sheriff's Marijuana Eradication Team.
The houses had been gutted by growers, who rigged complicated irrigation and light systems through a tangled maze of electrical cords and amplifiers.
Electricity at all three houses had been stolen using the same bypass methods, which helped them work undetected by electric meters, authorities said.
Residents in all three neighborhoods were curious, but some were more surprised by the revelations than others.
"It's not at all surprising," said Kimberly Marez, who lives near Notting Hill Way. "It seems like this happens everywhere."
Marez's daughter, Clarissa DiGiorgio, was more alarmed.
"I walk by that house all the time, and I never saw anything suspicious or smelled anything, not ever," DiGiorgio said.
For Nancy Marriott, the raids answered questions she'd been having for several weeks.
"No wonder it always smelled like a skunk when I went for my walks," Marriott said.
Authorities said at least two of the operations were connected and, possibly, all three.
Investigators said it was too early to know if the operations were connected to large trafficking organizations.
"We're certainly keeping our eyes open for possible ties to trafficking," Gil said.
The investigation was sparked by tips from residents in one of the neighborhoods.
"We certainly encourage people to call us if they see anything suspicious, fast traffic in and out of house, dark windows, anything, we'd really like to get those calls because they can lead to events like this," Gil said.
Thursday's bust came about six months after three other large growing operations were found in Plumas Lake houses. Four people were arrested.
Drug agents at the August raid said they believed there were other large-scale growing operations in the area.
Felony drug charges are still pending against two of the suspects, Dat Mai and Dao Feng, in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Charges against a third defendant, Hoang Mai, were dismissed in October. No charges were filed against the fourth defendant, Ahn Vu.
