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Mariposa Sheriff Continues Campaign Against Illegal Pot Grows

MARIPOSA COUNTY – On Thursday morning, May 29, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by Yosemite National Park law enforcement SRT members, served search warrants at two residences located in the 5000 block of Allred Road.

Yong Chen & Nenghui Zhang of Oakland, Calif., were arrested on site. The search warrants were connected to the ongoing illegal marijuana cultivation and sales investigation involving several residences and parcels located in Mariposa County.

Nenghui Zhang

The Sheriff’s Office says this is a complex conspiracy for sale investigation that has involved several properties to date. Several arrests have been made and some of those involved have already been sentenced in local court.

The entire parcel was set up to produce high quality marijuana, and about 761 marijuana plants will be eradicated along with thousands of dollars worth of complex indoor grow equipment.

Yong ChenAs has happened in the past, the PG&E power boxes had been jumped, stealing power to provide energy to the indoor system.

The Sheriff says not all structures on the site were actively producing marijuana, however those that were not already active were being prepped to grow marijuana.

Evidence collected from previous search warrants led sheriff’s detectives to the property.

Allred House 2Chen and Zhang are currently being charged with 11358 HS Cultivation, 11360 (A) Possession for Sales and 182 (A) (1) Conspiring to Commit a Crime. Both are being held on $100,000 bail.

“Our communities do not want these hazards next door,” said Sheriff Doug Binnewies. “I’m hoping this group gets the clue that we are not going to allow this criminal activity here and they move on.”

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