YUBA COUNTY — The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office shut down two more illegal marijuana grow operations and arrested four more Chinese nationals on Tuesday, the fourth bust in four months involving people born in China.

The sheriff’s office issued search warrants at two properties in Plumas Lake. About 1,900 marijuana plants and close to $4,000 in U.S. currency were seized in the bust.

Two Chinese nationals, Chang-Tu Lin, 49, and Hsiano-Chin Chang, 46, were arrested at the Casa Dulce Way residence during the search, where about 1,300 plants were found.

Xing Guang Lin, 51, and Rui Fang Lin, 47 — also both Chinese nationals — were arrested at the Arlington Way residence where about 600 marijuana plants were found, as well as $3,900 in U.S. currency.

[related_articles location=”left” show_article_date=”false” article_type=”automatic-primary-tag” curated_ids=””]All four suspects were arrested on suspicion of planting, harvesting or processing more than six marijuana plants, being in possession of marijuana for sale and criminal conspiracy. They were booked into Yuba County Jail, with bail set at $100,000 each.

Tuesday’s bust was the fourth in Yuba County since March involving people from China — an Edgewater bust March 16, Loma Rica on May 17, Bangor on May 23, and now Plumas Lake on Tuesday.

So far, close to 10,000 marijuana plants, six firearms, roughly $12,000 in U.S. currency, six firearms and at least 18 individuals — all born in China — have been seized and arrested during the four busts.

— Marysville Appeal-Democrat

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A former Colorado marijuana enforcement officer and a marijuana entrepreneur are among those accused of being involved with a large trafficking ring that shipped pot out of state.

Former pot officer Renee Rayton, Scott Pack and two growers were indicted June 7 by a grand jury, joining 16 others indicted in connection with the ring in March. According to the indictment, first reported on by The Cannabist on Tuesday, Pack’s businesses had marijuana licenses but allegedly never made a legal sale, serving instead as a front for the trafficking operation.

Investigators say Rayton, a former Pitkin County sheriff’s deputy, was hired away from her job at the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division in the fall of 2016 by Pack to work as a compliance consultant for $8,000 a month for six months. Rayton, whose job at the state included inspecting warehouses for compliance with regulations, allegedly refused to say where she was going and was earning money from the operation within about two weeks of leaving, according to the indictment. State licensing policies require regulators to wait six months before working in industries they once regulated.

Rayton, who was arrested and released on bond, and Pack, who is wanted for arrest, could not be reached for comment.

The ring allegedly shipped pot to Arkansas, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri because investigators say many of those involved had personal and business connections in those states.

Investigators say the marijuana was grown across Colorado but most came from warehouses and farms in Colorado Springs, Denver and Elizabeth, a small town between those cities.

— Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Chicago rapper Chief Keef has been released from a jail in South Dakota where he was charged with marijuana possession.

In this June 13, 2017 photo, Keith Cozart, known as Chief Keef, appears at Minnehaha County Court in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Chicago rapper has been released from a jail in South Dakota where he was charged with marijuana possession. Cozart, was arrested Monday at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport where officials say marijuana was found in his carry-on bag. (Joe Ahlquist/The Argus Leader via AP)

The rapper, whose legal name is Keith Cozart, was arrested Monday at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport where officials say marijuana was found in his carry-on bag.

Cozart is facing a felony charge for possessing a marijuana edible and two misdemeanors for possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He appeared Tuesday in a Sioux Falls court where a judge set bond at $2,000. The Minnehaha County Jail said Wednesday that Cozart is no longer in custody.

Cozart performed on Sunday at an anti-bullying celebrity basketball event at the University of Sioux Falls.

— Associated Press

LAKE COUNTY — Six people were arrested Monday in Clearlake Oaks during a marijuana sweep that turned up more than 45,000 plants, almost 200 pounds of processed marijuana and two guns, according to Lake County sheriff’s officials.

The Monday morning seizures were made from two properties in the 24000 block of East State Highway 20 by a team of sheriff’s narcotics deputies, the Mendocino County marijuana eradication team and the state National Guard drug task force.

At one property, officers found a large marijuana complex with greenhouse and outdoor plantings. At an adjacent property, they found thousands of plants growing on a hillside, according to officials.

At one site water for the plants was diverted from a creek, using a gas pump. Unpermitted grading also had been done to create a pond, officials said.

— Santa Rosa Press-Democrat

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