4 arrested for cultivating over 12,000 marijuana plants on land belonging to BLM
Photographer: ABC15
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 07/16/2012
WIKIEUP, AZ - Four Mexican nationals were arrested on July 10 for cultivating 12,556 marijuana plants on land belonging to the Bureau of Land Management south of Wikieup.
According to a news release, a complaint was filed in federal district court regarding the discovery of several marijuana cultivation areas near the Big Sandy Wash.
Hunters originally gave officials the tip leading to that discovery.
The cultivation areas used an irrigation system with generators, pumps, dripping pipes and camouflaged man-made reservoirs lined with plastic.
The arrested suspects are identified as Leopoldo Deniz-Ochoa, 27, Noe Isreal Cardenas-Delgado, 34, Andres Casillas-Alvarez, 54, and Jose Casillas-Castaneda, 29.
On July 12, the men made their initial appearances in court.
Convictions on each count in the filed complaint carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, a $10 million fine or both, according to the release.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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