Yuma men arrested in pot bust

Four Yuma men, one California man and four Mexican nationals have been arrested by Monterey County sheriff ’s deputies in connection to a large amount of marijuana that was found hidden inside a boat.

According to Commander John Thornburg of the Monterey County Sheriff ’s Office, at about 1:30 a.m. on Friday, members of the Monterey County Sting Task Force and sheriff deputies responded to reports of a fishing boat in the Los Padres National Forest.

Thornburg said when deputies and the task force arrived at the location, they discovered the boat sitting on rocks a few feet from the shoreline. Inside, the boat contained over 100 bales of marijuana. Deputies estimate the street value of the marijuana to be approximately $18 million.

When deputies found the boat there was no one around. However, Thornburg said they received evidence that indicated the suspects were still in the area. With assistance from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff ’s Office, a vehicle was identified and stopped.

Deputies determined the four men inside the vehicle were connected to the boat, and arrested them.

The men have been identified as Alejandro Acosta, 25; Jesus Garibay, 24; and Felix Garibay, 18, all of Yuma and Gonzalo Quezara, 27, of Riverside.

Deputies booked the men into the Monterey County Jail and seized the boat and bales of marijuana as evidence.

Thornburg said the investigation into the boatload of drugs continued over the weekend and resulted in the arrest of five other suspects, including Aaron Quintero of Yuma.

The boat, which Thornburg described as a pangastyle boat, is commonly used to transport drugs up from Mexico along the coast of California to destinations where the drugs are unloaded into vehicles. He said his office has seen more of these boats landing on the Monterey County coastline over the year.