Illegal grow held $500,000 worth of marijuana, Stanislaus deputies say. One arrested
An illegal marijuana grow operation was discovered outside of Turlock last Thursday, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Deputies said they found about 1,000 plants and about 300 pounds of processed marijuana when they conducted a search on the 9000 block of East Keyes Road in Denair. The street value was estimated to be $500,000.
“Another illegal grow gone, another criminal in custody and two stolen guns recovered. Merry Christmas!” read a Facebook post from Sheriff Jeff Dirkse on Friday.
Dirkse’s Facebook post was accompanied with pictures of bags of marijuana, facilities housing the plants and two handguns.
One person was arrested and two handguns, reported to be stolen, were recovered. Denair man Jaime Beltran, 38, was arrested on suspicion of felony charges of operating a drug house and possession of stolen property.
A bail enhancement was added because Beltran was out on bail for similar charges, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz. His bail for Thursday’s arrest was set for $110,000.
The plants were destroyed and the processed marijuana was seized. The operation was conducted by the office’s Marijuana Enforcement Team, according to Schwartz.
