FEDS STORM 25 LOCATIONS IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY DRUG RAIDS

Federal agents raided about 25 Humboldt County locations linked to
one group's alleged illegal drug operation in the early morning hours Tuesday.

The raids, focused mainly in Southern Humboldt, also brought agents
to Arcata, where one house was reportedly raided. In Southern
Humboldt, residents woke up to tales of convoys of federal agents
driving through the southern part of the county, while residents
elsewhere heard the news through online media and radio reports.

Federal agents from a variety of law enforcement agencies, including
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency and
Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, joined in the large-scale drug bust
dubbed "Operation Southern Sweep."

Federal agencies brought almost three times the number of agents --
about 450 -- as the number of law enforcement officers in the
county's seven incorporated cities and the Humboldt County Sheriff's
Office, which total 158.

Officials rigged a base of operations at the River Lodge in Fortuna,
with several large trucks carrying communications equipment parked outside.

FBI Special Agent Joseph M. Schadler said that agents will be in
Humboldt County over the next few days to finish raids on 23 discrete
locations and two large chunks of property.

Agents executed 27 federal warrants and two state warrants at these
locations, he said. Agents served four of the 29 warrants at two
large chunks of property.

The massive raids were a result of a two-year investigation by the
California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement,
connecting one group's large-scale commercial marijuana grow and
distribution operation, Schadler said.

"They are not Mexican drug traffickers," he said. "They are homegrown."

Agents are not targeting medical marijuana users or growers with 215
cards, Schadler said.

The goal of the raids is to collect evidence to support prosecutions,
he said, and no arrests are planned at this time.

One person was arrested Tuesday for assaulting an officer, but it's
unknown whether that person will be charged, Schadler said.

Although officials wouldn't comment on where specific raids occurred,
Southern Humboldt residents offered direction as to where federal agents went.

Scott Bliss, a roaster with Signature Coffee Co. in Redway, saw a
line of vehicles -- he guessed there were 90 -- pass by the business
in the early morning hours. "It was amazing," he said. The unmarked
vehicles had mostly uniformed people inside, Bliss said, whom he
first thought were going to help put out the nearby fires.

Some of the vehicles were towing all-terrain vehicles, three-wheelers
and portable toilets, Bliss said, and the convoy of vehicles lasted
about 15 minutes. "I've seen some convoys go by, but never anything
like that," said Bliss, who has lived in the county since 1969.

According to residents in Redway and media accounts, tales of raids
in Whale Gulch, Whitethorn and Briceland emerged throughout the day.

A carpenter who commutes to the Whitethorn area for his job said his
was the first civilian vehicle to drive behind the federal convoy at
around 7 a.m.

"It was like 10 minutes' worth of cars," said the man, who wished to
remain anonymous due to the small size of the community he lives in.
"I personally have worked at sites where people are taking advantage
of 215s and I know they're not doing it for medical -- they're doing
it for profit."

Graham Fabian, a 22-year-old clerk at the Shop Smart grocery in
Redway, said customers relayed stories of federal agents knocking on
their doors and asking for identification.

"They're doing their thing -- if you've got nothing to hide there's
nothing to be scared of," he said.

Fabian, who grew up in Humboldt County, said he knew this day would come.

"I knew it would happen eventually," he said. "Once it gets enough
popularity, they come and enforce. You can ask anyone and they know
Humboldt is known for pot growing. (The feds) probably just do their
sweeps one drug at a time."

South county residents also reported that federal agents conducted
raids in the Island Mountain and Harris area.

Krisy Chilingarian, a clerk at an Alderpoint store, said she heard
stories of Campaign against Marijuana Planting hauling several
baskets of plants from the mountain.

"I've been getting phone calls all day long," she said.

She also said residents reported armed agents stopped people in the
Island Mountain area and searched cars, though officials did not verify that.

Federal agents reportedly raided only one residence in northern
Humboldt County.

FBI agents raided a house at 1658 Virginia Way in Sunny Brae early
Tuesday morning.

Around 10 a.m., agents combed through the trunk of a gray car parked
in the driveway. The car had Oregon license plates.

Equipment including lamps, triangular containers and hoses was spread
across the yard.

It's unknown whether any arrests were made by agents at that time.

"I have no idea how long (FBI agents) were there," said former Arcata
Mayor and Councilmember Bob Ornelas, who lives across the street from
the raided house.

He stepped outside his door around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning and saw
eight agents around the house across the street, he said. "You could
see lots of flashing, lots of picture taking," Ornelas said.

He said he prefers neighbors to unoccupied grow houses and the sound
of children over silence.

"The pattern is no one's ever home," he said regarding the raided house.