Sheriff: Drug raids to continue
No one who had dealings with reputed Short Mountain marijuana traffickers Morris Roller and Jeff Young is safe as lawmen prepare for the next round of arrests.
?It?s not over,? said Sheriff Jackie Matheny one week after two Short Mountain ranchers were arrested on federal drug conspiracy charges. ?We expect several companion cases to go along with the arrests of Roller and Young, probably on federal conspiracy charges.?
Investigators say Roller and Young were the two biggest drug traffickers caught here in recent memory as the men reportedly dealt large quantities of imported marijuana. Lawmen say they made many undercover buys, leading up to the raids Wednesday. Over $3 million in land and property belonging to the businessmen has been seized.
While lawmen sometimes seek to make additional charges after such large-scale busts, Matheny said in this case, the charges are sure to come since they have the conspiracies being hatched during telephone calls, calls which were monitored and recorded.
?We were listening in to both sides of the conversations,? Matheny said. ?We know who the other people are. The wire taps provided us a lot of information as to whom these men were doing business with. We have a list of their names.?
Matheny said their office has been contacted by private citizens and attorneys inquiring if they are on the list.
?We know that some folks have already been advised to get an attorney,? Matheny said, noting some of the suspects were seen driving by the raid sites last Wednesday.
Matheny said the arrests of the Short Mountain cartel, along with the pending arrests of other lower level dealers, will put at least a temporary dent in the marijuana trade here because the men supplied such a high quantity of drugs locally. As for when the next roundup will happen, Matheny said there is no time frame as a federal grand jury could convene at any time to hear evidence against the additional co-conspirators.
Both Roller and Young remain in federal custody awaiting their day in court.