Narcotics Officers arrested three suspects after finding 61,000 marijuana plants near a complex in Santa Barbara County. The plants were growing over a 3 mile stretch east of Twitchell Reservoir on highway 166.
Officials call this one of the largest marijuana seizures in recent history of Santa Barbara County. The estimated value is $195,000,000, according to the Sheriff's Department.
On Sunday Officials returned to the site to check for additional marijuana and found three suspects in the area. All suspects were arrested for various charges unrelated to the marijuana garden.
Fransisco Hinojosa was charged with being an unlicensed driver, Rafael Zavala and Pedro Alvarez were both charged with providing false information to an Officer. All three were placed on immigration holds by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.