3 1/2 Tons of Marijuana Seized on Beach Near Santa Barbara
Federal and local authorities have seized more than $51 million worth of Colombian marijuana and arrested seven suspects after they transferred 3 1/2 tons of the drug from a sailboat to a Santa Barbara County beach, officials said Tuesday.
Bruce H. Throckmorton, 41, of Ventura, whom federal agents believe to be the ringleader, was arrested after he used a shortwave radio early Sunday morning to direct the unloading from a hill overlooking the 52-foot sailboat north of Refugio State Beach, the authorities said.
The marijuana seizure, at 7,242 pounds the largest in Santa Barbara County history, came after the smugglers had loaded 129 bales into inflatable boats and hauled them ashore with a rope to be transferred to rented trucks, authorities said.
After launching flares to light the beach, about 50 officers took the men into custody, said Special Agent Ralph Lochridge of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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