Authorities seized more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana from a boat that docked illegally Saturday morning in Malibu. (KTLA-TV) |
MALIBU, Calif. (KTLA) -- Deputies arrested three people early Saturday morning after a boat carrying at least 3,000 pounds of marijuana docked illegally in the Point Dume State Preserve.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies responded sometime after 1 a.m. to reports that the 25-foot boat drove close to shore and docked. They arrived and searched the boat, finding it filled almost to capacity with plastic-wrapped bales of marijuana, sheriff's officials said.
Four suspects fled in different directions when the deputies arrived at the scene, heading into the cliffs and trails of the state park. Deputies quickly established a perimeter and used flashlights to search through the thick brush and cliff crevices for the suspects.
The deputies managed to find three of the four suspects by 8 a.m. Saturday.
The captured suspects may be Mexican citizens, officials said. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents are now trying to verify their identities
Sheriff's officials believe the fourth suspect escaped the area after hiding somewhere in the park's hilly terrain.
Meanwhile, authorities confiscated the bales of marijuana from the boat, placing them in back of a pickup truck. A Department of Homeland Security agent said the load in the truck was "just a fraction" of the load the boat was carrying.
Officials at the scene said the confiscated drugs are estimated to weigh between 1,200 to 1,300 pounds.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies responded sometime after 1 a.m. to reports that the 25-foot boat drove close to shore and docked. They arrived and searched the boat, finding it filled almost to capacity with plastic-wrapped bales of marijuana, sheriff's officials said.
Four suspects fled in different directions when the deputies arrived at the scene, heading into the cliffs and trails of the state park. Deputies quickly established a perimeter and used flashlights to search through the thick brush and cliff crevices for the suspects.
The deputies managed to find three of the four suspects by 8 a.m. Saturday.
The captured suspects may be Mexican citizens, officials said. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents are now trying to verify their identities
Sheriff's officials believe the fourth suspect escaped the area after hiding somewhere in the park's hilly terrain.
Meanwhile, authorities confiscated the bales of marijuana from the boat, placing them in back of a pickup truck. A Department of Homeland Security agent said the load in the truck was "just a fraction" of the load the boat was carrying.
Officials at the scene said the confiscated drugs are estimated to weigh between 1,200 to 1,300 pounds.
