Humboldt County deputies assisted by the county drug task force served a Superior Court search warrant on a residence in the 42000 block of Highway 36, Dinsmore, on the morning of 24 June 2014.[1][2] They detained four people, three from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and one transient, who told deputies they had moved to the area years earlier to grow and sell marijuana.[1][2]

The search found a hash lab, 2,123 growing plants between two inches and four feet tall, about 15 pounds of processed marijuana, about three pounds of concentrated cannabis and $2,200 in cash.[1][2] Deputies also found cut trees, wetland and habitat destruction for a holding pond, and water diverted from a Van Duzen River tributary into tanks for the grow; a state fish and wildlife warden responded and Cal-Fire was notified of possible environmental crimes.[1][2]

All four were arrested for possession and possession for sale of marijuana, possession of concentrated cannabis and manufacturing drugs, and were booked into the county jail with bail set at $500,000 each.[1][2]