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Eight people were arrested and more than 55 pounds of harvested marijuana were seized during drug busts in Daly City and San Francisco, according to the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force.
All the suspects are members of a close-knit Asian drug-trafficking organization and not associated with any known medical marijuana collectives, according to the task force.
Also seized were 1,400 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, six guns and more than $47,000 in suspected drug profits, according to the task force.
The estimated street value of the marijuana is more than $450,000, according to the task force.
The busts, made Monday, were the result of a nine-month undercover investigation by police in San Mateo and San Francisco counties, according to the task force.
Arrested were Nam Nguyen, Danny Nguyen, Bong Nguyen and Donna Quach of Daly City and Brian Wong, Marvin Pham, Tue Phan and Steven Pham of San Francisco.
Grow sites were discovered at three homes in Daly City and one in San Francisco, according to the task force.
The operation was dubbed “Mighty Mites” after agents found that a significant amount of the marijuana plants and grow rooms were infested with spider mites and their webs, according to the task force.
Four of the nine search warrant locations were active indoor marijuana grow sites and the remaining locations were the residences of the arrested suspects and/or co-conspirators, according to the task force.
The charges range from cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale to criminal conspiracy and a bail of $1 million was set for each of the suspects, according to the task force.
The investigation into the drug-trafficking organization is on-going and agents are still actively gathering and analyzing evidence. All of those arrested are in custody pending arraignment today at the San Mateo County Northern Superior Court, according to the task force.
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