A trifecta of homes in Riverside County was busted for harboring hefty pot farms on Thursday, leading to the cuffing of four men and the seizure of a nursery's worth of marijuana, cops said. The morning raid, orchestrated by the San Jacinto Station's Special Enforcement Team alongside the Riverside County Sheriff's Office Marijuana Enforcement Team and Southwest Corridor Task Force, hit targets in San Jacinto, Hemet, and Pomona, per Riverside County Sheriff's official release.
Alirio David Vivas-Garcia, Domingo Guarchaj, Manuel Tabriz, and Francisco Guachea-Tabriz were swept up without incident as the authorities sniffed out 1436 marijuana plants and 54 pounds of processed pot, in addition to a pair of unregistered firearms and over 11 grand in cold, hard cash, the Riverside Sheriff’s Office detailed in a recent alert.
Vivas-Garcia, a 38-year-old from Hemet; Guarchaj, a 28-year-old LA dweller; Tabriz, 33, also of Los Angeles; and Guachea-Tabriz, 28, another LA resident, are now guests of the Smith Correctional Facility, booked on various narcotics-related offenses, while the deputies hinted at a deeper dive as this bust has germinated an ongoing investigation.
Items further suggesting the wholesaling of wares, commonly associated with illicit narcotic sales, were reportedly discovered as law enforcement combed through the residences, the presence of such materials indicating a larger narrative of organized crime and the complexities of the black market - a tale reeking not just of skunky cannabis but of societal demands and regulatory battles tossed in a salad of criminal justice and economic desperation.
The San Jacinto Sheriff’s Office has cast a net for additional information and encourages anyone who could fertilize their investigation with further insights to contact Deputy Sicre at (951) 654–2702.
