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Mexican Men Indicted For Growing Thousands Of Pot Plants CA National Forest

The U.S. Attorney Office in Sacramento says a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment on Thursday against two Mexican nationals for growing marijuana in the Shasta-TrinityNational Forest on a massive scale and the destruction of federal land. Both men are in custody.

Armando Vargas Garcia, 37, and Eduardo Montero Aleman, 37, are charged with the cultivation of 8,656 marijuana plants in the Big Mountain area of the forest between August 29th and September 5th of this year. The pair allegedly had two compound archery bows, nine arrows, and 42 rounds of hollow-point .22-caliber ammunition at the grow site. The indictment also notes that officers found bottles of carbofuran, which is a toxic pesticide that is banned in the United States.

The indictment follows an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, theTrinityCounty Sheriff’s Department, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and theTrinityCounty District Attorney’s Office.

Both Garcia and Aleman are facing a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine for conviction on either of the marijuana charges. If they're convicted of damaging public lands, they'll be looking at up to 10 more years in prison and a $250,000 fine.


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