Update: 1,200 marijuana plants found at illegal grow in Cathedral City
Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men Tuesday in connection with a suspected marijuana grow operation at a Rancho Mirage home.
Yonghaw Yang, 36, and Zhong Jian Yang, 35, were taken into custody Tuesday morning on suspicion of cultivation of between 50 and 199 marijuana plants and utility theft, according to county jail records. Both men were being held at the Riverside County jail in Indio in lieu of $25,000 bail.
The suspected grow operation was being conducted out of a home at Florentina Drive and Vistara Drive, according to Deputy Armando Munoz.
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Update: The Coachella Valley Narcotics Task Force (CVNTF) has released information on the search warrant that was served at the Rancho Mirage residence. One hundred fifty marijuana plants and 50 pounds of processed marijuana were found during the search. It’s estimated that the Yangs illegally siphoned off $9,000 worth of electricity to run the grow operation.
The raid was conducted by CVNTF, with assistance from the Riverside County Special Investigations Bureau and the Rancho Mirage Police Department. During the initial search, CVNTF members discovered evidence that led them to a separate grow operation on the 31600 block of Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City.
A second search warrant was written and issued for the secondary location, where 1,200 marijuana plants were discovered. It’s estimated that $27,000 worth of electricity was siphoned off at the Cathedral City grow location. No arrests were made during the second search.
