Six Men Accused of Smuggling 1,500 Pounds of Marijuana From Singapore

Six men have been charged in federal court with possession with intent to distribute nearly 1,500 pounds of a highly potent form of marijuana that was smuggled from Singapore to Newport Beach, authorities said Monday.

In court papers filed last Thursday, prosecutors allege that the men were involved in a scheme to smuggle what is known as Thai stick marijuana in a 51-foot sailboat. After the boat docked in Newport Beach, the drugs were stored in a Costa Mesa warehouse, the documents claim.

Last July, federal authorities served a search warrant on the warehouse, seizing 1,445 pounds of marijuana wrapped in plastic and packaged in 64 brown cardboard boxes. Drug Enforcement Administration officials investigating the case also confiscated the boat, the Asmara, under federal asset seizure laws.

Four of the men named in the federal complaint were arrested in Orange County on Monday. They were identified as Stephen Yocom, 43, of Newport Beach, and Lawrance A. Morgan, 42, Steven Budvitits, 43, and Gregory Strong, 39, all of Costa Mesa.

A fifth man, Gary Marolf, was in custody in Michigan, while the sixth, Michael Riley, agreed to appear in court on a summons today, authorities said. Their ages and residences were not immediately available.

According to the complaint, a crew member of the Asmara told a DEA agent that Morgan hired him to prepare the boat for the journey across the ocean. The unidentified crew member said Morgan informed him that there would be marijuana aboard the vessel, the documents allege.