SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.
Federal authorities on Saturday arrested 13 people after law enforcement interdicted nearly 3,000 pounds of marijuana that they were trying to smuggle into the United States by panga boat at Arroyo Quemada Beach in southern Santa Barbara County, just north of the city of Santa Barbara, officials said today.
All 13 defendants were named in a criminal complaint filed Sunday that charges them with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
The sentence for possession of nearly 3,000 pounds of marijuana with the intent to distribute it is life in prison, officials said.
“Smuggling by panga boat endangers the lives of both the smugglers and authorities interdicting the boats and their payloads,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Law enforcement has and will continue to use all available means to curtail this dangerous activity.”
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint filed yesterday, the United States Coast Guard first spotted the panga boat at Arroyo Quemada Beach early Saturday morning.
The affidavit notes that drug-traffickers commonly use panga boats at night in an effort to evade law enforcement.
In this case, authorities believe that three people were in the boat, and approximately 15 people were observed on shore helping to unload the bales of marijuana.
Two vans and a pick-up truck separately drove to the beach, and bales of marijuana were loaded into the pick-up and one of the vans.
The vehicles then departed the beach at about the same time, but they went in separate directions.
One van, which was being used to transport the marijuana, was stopped in Camarillo; the second van, which was being used to transport people, was stopped when it returned to Arroyo Quemada Beach; and the pick-up, which was being used to transport marijuana, was stopped in Carpinteria.
Law enforcement seized 114 bales of marijuana from the van stopped in Camarillo and the pick-up truck stopped in Carpinteria.
Authorities arrested the following individuals:
- Hector Raul Bernal-Lara, 41
- Ricardo Sanchez-Marquez, 36
- Daniel Aguilar, 25
- Mark Garcia, 23
- Susana Tobaldo, 42
- Kevin Tes, 22
- Josh Rubio, 21
- Alfonso Aguilar-Ballestros, 48
- Jesus Moreno-Sepulveda, 31
- Santiago Galvan-Carrillo, 48
- Paul Armenta-Bueno, 34
- Bryan Castro, 18
- Daniel Fernando-Huizar, 26
All defendants are innocent unless proven guilty.
The investigation in this case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Border Patrol, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.