Police Arrest 4, Find Marijuana in 2 Searches
Police seized 1,100 pounds of imported marijuana worth an estimated $5 million and arrested four men Thursday during two related drug searches, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office said.
At 9 a.m., police officers from Santa Ana, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa, along with investigators from the district attorney’s office, served a search warrant at a warehouse belonging to the Royal Pacific Golf Assn. at 2703 W. Coast Highway in Newport Beach, Ralph Lochridge of the district attorney’s office said.
In that seizure, officers confiscated 64 cardboard boxes containing “Thai sticks,” Lochridge said. Thai sticks are a potent form of marijuana imported from Thailand.
Police also arrested brothers Larry A. Morgan, 42, and Ralph Pierpoint Morgan III, 44, both of Costa Mesa, Lochridge said.
Two hours later, officers served another warrant at 2656 Orange St. in Newport Beach where a cardboard box containing the same kind of marijuana was recovered, authorities said.
Arrested in that seizure were two Newport Beach men, Michael Giese, and Greg Strong, both in their 30s, Lochridge said.
The four men were being held at Costa Mesa City Jail pending filing of federal charges of conspiracy to possess marijuana for distribution, authorities said.
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