4 arrested in raids on suspected Southland pot operations

"This case also illustrates the extremely lucrative nature of large-scale marijuana-growing operations, which require a substantial investment but can yield millions of dollars in profits," said U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien.

DEA agents seized more than 5,600 plants from five locations in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties. The marijuana-growing houses were in Corona, Walnut, Hesperia, Hemet and Riverside.

The raids today were the culmination of a year-long probe that has dismantled 33 clandestine growing facilities in tract homes across the region and led to the seizure of more than 19,000 plants, said DEA Special Agent Sarah Pullen.

"This was an organized network that acquired homes in modern and new tracts and then configured every one the same way so the entire house became an indoor growing facility," Pullen said. Typically, the homes cost $500,000 to $600,000 to purchase, she said.

The four people arrested today have been charged with conspiracy to manufacture 1,000 or more marijuana plants. They are expected to appear in federal district court in Los Angeles this afternoon.

The suspects have been identified as Sang Vong Din, 47, of Temple City; Sehn Nguyen, 41, of Los Angeles; Quan Vi To, 51, of El Monte; and Jennifer Zhang, 44, of Temple City. If convicted on the conspiracy charge, they face a minimum 10 years in federal prison, Pullen said.

Over the last few years, the greater Los Angeles area has seen the emergence of suburban growing facilities, following a similar trend in the San Francisco and Seattle areas, authorities said. In the majority of cases, those arrested have been tied to Asian organized crime groups, mostly run by people of Chinese origin, Pullen said.

She said the home purchases appear to be financed by such groups.

Agents said individuals running the homes raided today bypassed local utility meters and tapped into the power grid.

The set-ups in the raided houses have been nearly identical, authorities said: carpets pulled up and stored in walk-in closets; holes cut through floors, ceilings, walls and doors to accommodate electrical wires, water lines and ventilation ducts.

"These lucrative illegal operations can function with little scrutiny, which makes them attractive to the criminal element but put our communities in harm's way," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum. "As these drug-trafficking organizations develop more complex methods of concealing their activities, we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to seek them out and dismantle their operations."

richard.winton@latimes.com