Between 1 and 7 November 2021, investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team and deputies from several patrol stations served 26 search warrants in Lucerne Valley, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, Wonder Valley, Helendale, Newberry Springs, Pinon Hills, Phelan, Daggett, Barstow and Rancho Cucamonga.[1] The week was the tenth of Operation Hammer Strike, the sheriff’s campaign against illegal cultivation that began on 30 August, and its 34 arrests were then the fourth-highest weekly total of the campaign.[1][2] Deputies acted on numerous complaints about large outdoor and indoor grows that violated state cannabis law and the county’s ban on commercial outdoor cultivation.[1]
Sheriff’s personnel seized 33,189 marijuana plants, 8,588 pounds (about 3.9 tonnes) of processed marijuana, nine guns and more than $24,000 in cash, and eradicated 211 greenhouses plus two indoor grow sites.[1][2] Four Los Angeles County men were among those arrested or cited: Defu Zhou, 35, and Huang Quan Rui, 34, of Los Angeles, Armando De La Torre, 46, of Tarzana, and Alejandro Aguilar, 46, of Arleta.[1] The suspects faced charges including cultivating more than six plants, possession of marijuana for sale, illegal water discharge and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.[1]
