FEDS LAUNCH MASSIVE POT STING

Agents Sweep SoHum Commercial Grows

Motorcades of government SUVs poured through Humboldt County
communities Tuesday as hundreds of federal and state agents began
their search for commercial marijuana growing operations in a
multi-day investigation the FBI has dubbed "Operation Southern Sweep."

The bureau's spokesman Joseph Schadler reported 450 agents with
several federal agencies would be serving search warrants and
collecting evidence on properties where "corporate marijuana growing
operations" were suspected.

On Tuesday morning, at the operation's command center in Fortuna's
River Lodge parking lot, Schadler said 27 search warrants would be
executed over the course of the day, and two more are expected later this week.

He said he could not discuss what properties agents raided Tuesday,
or which they had yet to investigate.

Medical marijuana dispensaries and 215 patients would not be targeted
by the investigation, Schadler said. The Humboldt Cooperative, a
medical marijuana dispensary in Arcata, said Tuesday evening that
federal agents had not interfered with business.

"We're not here to set policy or interfere with California's
compassionate use laws," Schadler said. The FBI is investigating
"for-profit and corporate grow operations beyond the scope of 215."

Those alleged for-profit growing operations total some 2,000 acres of
outdoor cultivation, spread across Southern Humboldt and Northern
Mendocino counties, Schadler Advertisement said. Additionally, at
least one home in Arcata was raided.

Federal agents on the scene of the stings were tight-lipped about
their work and would not answer media questions; however the agents
were observed searching properties throughout the county.

Early Tuesday, Arcata police stood ready to assist as federal agents
served one search warrant at a house on Virginia Way in Sunny Brae.
The federal agents carried grow lights and other equipment, as well
as boxes and bags filled with evidence, into the front yard.

In Shelter Cove, at least two homes were broken into by authorities
- -- the damaged front doors scarred by police battering rams.

In the front yard of a house outside Whitethorn, a pile of uprooted
marijuana plants was stacked next to rows of grow lights, a computer
and an assortment of growing equipment. One agent stood in the
doorway of the house, holding a clear plastic bag filled with cash,
as other agents scoured the house for other evidence.

Schadler said investigators would be taking DNA evidence, seizing
weapons and chopping plants as part of their evidence gathering.

Individuals suspected of involvement in the alleged growing
operations were not part of Tuesday's sting, as the agencies were
focused on collecting evidence and building cases against possible
growers, Schadler said. But he anticipates "seeing charges later on
down the line."

Although Schadler said agents were not interested in making arrests,
one man was taken into police custody after reportedly assaulting an
officer. Schadler said he did not know if charges would be filed.

The operation -- a result of a two-year-long investigation instigated
by the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic
Enforcement -- started around 7 a.m. Tuesday when convoys of SUVs
left the hotel parking lot.

The parking lot was transformed into a make-shift mission control
center for the teams. A gray RV-sized vehicle, adorned with a radio
tower and satellite, was parked in front of the hotel, and fed
information to personnel on laptops and satellite phones inside.

The River Lodge was off-limits to the public, and inside numerous
government agents could be seen circulating through the building
throughout the day.

Schadler said agents would be in the area for "a couple days," and a
hotel clerk reported their rooms have been booked through Friday.

The personnel involved are part of an alphabet soup of government
agencies, which include the Bureau of Narcotics, the Internal Revenue
Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and Drug
Enforcement Administration.

Local authorities like California Highway Patrol and the Humboldt
County Sheriff's Office also aided in the investigation.

Sheriff Lt. George Cavinta said six deputies assisted federal agents,
providing logistical information.

"It's a very rural country that they're into," he said. "You're
taking a large amount of metropolitan agents and getting them
adjusted to the setting in Humboldt County."

The Sheriff's Office reported it was not involved with any of the 29
warrants issued for the operation.

Schadler said he could not discuss what evidence allowed them to
attain the search warrants.

In some cases, warrants have been obtained by local law enforcement
using Pacific Gas and Electric Co. records to find the houses drawing
noticeably more electricity off the grid, which often indicates
marijuana grows.

PG&E spokeswoman Jana Morris said the company never volunteers
records of any customers, but it must cooperate if authorities
present search warrants.

If You Go

What: Trinidad City Council

When: 7 p.m. tonight

Where: Trinidad Town Hall, 409 Trinity St.