4 Mexican nationals charged with transporting more than 4,700 pounds of marijuana aboard panga boat to Santa Barbara county beach
LOS ANGELES – Four Mexican nationals today were named in a federal grand jury indictment charging them with possessing and intending to distribute more than 2,100 kilograms (4,700 pounds) of marijuana, which they allegedly transported on a fishing boat that landed on a Santa Barbara County beach.
The investigation into this matter was spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with substantial assistance provided by the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, California State Parks, California Highway Patrol, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The indictment returned this afternoon charges four men, all of Sinaloa, Mexico, with one count of possession with intent to distribute at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment and mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison:
- Alejo Garcia-Moreno, 54;
- Benito Garcia-Moreno, 59, Alejo Garcia-Moreno’s brother;
- Mario Sainz-Aranzubia, 44, a cousin of Alejo and Benito Garcia-Moreno; and
- Benny Zazueta-Sainz, 28, Sainz-Aranzubia’s nephew.
“These charges are a direct result of the ongoing collaborative efforts by HSI, together with its federal and local partners, to detect and deter maritime smuggling,” said David A. Prince, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “Maritime smuggling poses both a security and a public safety concern and we’re continuing to use all of the resources and tools at our disposal to address this threat.”
According to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint in this matter, on the evening of March 11, CBP airplane observed an open-bowed fishing vessel known as a “panga boat,” loaded with suspected narcotics and traveling toward Goleta. The four defendants later were identified as being the boat’s crewmembers.
The panga boat landed at Hollister Ranch Beach in Goleta at approximately 1:15 a.m. on March 12. In addition to the crew members on the panga boat that officers aboard the airplane previously observed, law enforcement saw 14 additional individuals on the beach, as well as two other people on a hill who appeared to be conducting counter-surveillance of law enforcement activity. Once the boat landed, the 14 non-crew members on the beach offloaded bales of marijuana from the boat and moved the bales to multiple vehicles waiting nearby,
Law enforcement entered Hollister Ranch Beach around 3 a.m. and the suspected narcotics traffickers scattered and fled. HSI special agents and partners pursued the suspects and arrested a total of 21 people, including the four defendants named in today’s indictment. The other 17 individuals were released.
Following the arrests, HSI and partners recovered a total of more than 200 bales of marijuana from the panga boat, the Hollister Ranch Beach area, and the van.
In total, the four defendants are charged with possessing with intent to distribute 2,138.5 kilograms (4,714.6 pounds) of marijuana, according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
Updated: