Ten people arrested after Inland Empire drug ring uncovered
Ten people accused in a drug trafficking operationspread throughout the Inland Empire and other parts of Southern California werearrested today during a sweep by local and federal authorities, who also seizedthousands of marijuana plants.
Augustine Bazan Camacho, 41, of Pomona; Ken Ho, 33, of Arcadia; RaymondLam, 42, of Arcadia; Simon Lam, 32, of Arcadia; Steven Huytu Lam, 52, ofWalnut; Luc Kai Phoung, 50, of Rosemead; Thanh Van Phu, 33, of El Monte; Li YaSi, 42, of Temple City; Phieu Tran, 35, of El Monte; and San S. Voong, 33, ofArcadia were taken into custody without incident, according to the U.S.Attorney’s Office.
According to federal prosecutors, the defendants and another man stillat large — Andy Tran, 39, of Monterey Park — ran a multi-city marijuanagrowing operation that at its peak saw the cultivation of more than 15,000marijuana plants in 15 houses that were converted into indoor pot farms.
Personnel with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, RiversideCounty Sheriff’s Department, the IRS, U.S. Marshals Service, Los Angeles PoliceDepartment and other agencies took part in today’s raids.
Prosecutors allege Raymond Lam was the ring leader, with the otherdefendants performing various roles, including plant tenders, technicians andenforcers. Lam was generally the one signing the leases or making outrightpurchases of single-family homes used by the organization, according to courtpapers.
The marijuana grows all relied on hydroponic equipment and electricitythat was illegally acquired through sophisticated wiring that bypassed utilitymeters, prosecutors said.
The search warrants executed today targeted 26 locations in Arcadia,Chino, Corona, Diamond Bar, Eastvale, El Monte, Fontana, Los Angeles, MontereyPark, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Temple City and Walnut.
Authorities seized 8,000 marijuana plants, seven firearms and more than$250,000 cash, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In previous raids over the last two years tied to the sameinvestigation, law enforcement personnel seized 15,000 cannabis plants and1,000 pounds of harvested weed, prosecutors said.
The conspirators each face life, or a minimum of 10 years, behind barsif convicted.
They’re slated to make their initial court appearances this afternoon atU.S. District Court in downtown Riverside.
