Nearly two dozen people – the vast majority of them Alameda County residents – were recently arrested as a part of a serious operation to dismantle a nationwide burglary ring targeting marijuana dispensaries across California, state and native law enforcement officials announced Thursday.
The arrests were the culmination of a months-long investigation into at the least 15 break-ins at marijuana dispensaries in nine different counties, from the California-Mexico border to the state's coastal wine country, based on the California Attorney General's Office. In total, the suspected burglars stole about 975 kilos of marijuana, leading to total damage of $1 million, the agency said.
Oakland Police investigators and members of town's Ceasefire program played a key role in identifying the suspects and coordinating their arrests, said Deputy Chief Frederick Shavies of the Oakland Police Department.
“This operation has made not only the city of Oakland safer, but the entire state of California,” Shavies said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao praised the arrests as an indication of town's commitment to eradicating crime.
The investigation began in February, lower than two months after Oakland undercover detective Tuan Le was shot and killed during a break-in at a harborside marijuana plantation. The Dec. 29 shooting was the primary killing of an on-duty Oakland police officer in about 15 years.
At least two cops who helped arrest suspects in Les' death also played key roles in the following nationwide crackdown, Shavies said.
Still, Shavies made no suggestion of any connection between the officer's death and the operation announced Thursday. He said he had no information that any of the suspects arrested within the operation were involved within the burglaries along the Embarcadero the morning Le was shot.
Most, if not all, of the suspects arrested within the operation are expected to be prosecuted by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office due to county's high variety of burglaries, authorities said.
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