Five men, including three Mexican nationals, face state felony drug charges over a stash house in Whetstone, Arizona, after a joint operation on 11 July 2014 by Homeland Security Investigations, the Border Patrol and Sierra Vista police.[1] Agents seized nearly two tons of marijuana in the bust.[1]
HSI agents in Douglas had identified a possible stash house in Whetstone and watched a pickup towing a flatbed trailer pull up while several people loaded it with marijuana bales.[1] Agents followed the truck into nearby Sierra Vista, where police stopped it for a traffic violation and found more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana bundled and partly covered in the trailer.[1] The driver, Heinz Scriba, 55, of Sierra Vista, was arrested, and passenger Gadhi Corella, 22, of Tucson, was caught after trying to flee on foot.[1]
After obtaining a search warrant, authorities searched the Whetstone house and found another 135 bundles weighing more than 2,600 pounds inside, together making more than 3,800 pounds (about 1,724 kg).[1] Francisco Lara-Delgado, 35, and Omar Galindo Islava, 25, both of Mexico, were arrested at the house, and Mark Jesus Gomez-Gallegos, 33, of Mexico, was arrested on 14 July.[1] All five were pending prosecution in Cochise County Superior Court.[1]
