By admin 
A California sheriff’s office arrested 10 people and recovered thousands of dollars in cash, dozens of firearms and $220,000 worth of cocaine as part of an investigation into narcotic sales allegedly connected to a well-known gang.
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The 10 arrests came after a “lengthy” investigation into drug sales suspected to benefit the Nipomo 13 gang, according to a Friday news release.
Nipomo is a city on California’s Central Coast, in San Luis Obispo County — about three hours north of Los Angeles.
During the investigation, detectives also discovered an alleged conspiracy to sell drugs from two SLO County businesses: Munchiez 805 restaurant in Arroyo Grande and Head Liners barbershop in Nipomo, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Search warrants issued during the investigation allowed detectives to recover 2.2 kilograms of cocaine, 25 firearms and more than $60,000 in cash — alongside evidence of gang-related activity and drug sales, the release said.
Detectives later reviewed other investigative evidence, including surveillance footage and social media and cell phone evidence, the Sheriff’s Office said. They also identified suspected co-conspirators and conducted interviews throughout the investigation.
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On Thursday and Friday, detectives arrested 10 people on suspicion of drug- and possible gang-related crimes as a result of the investigation.
Five of the 10 people were identified by the Sheriff’s Office as being from Nipomo, including: Robert Ramirez, 43; Josef Ramirez, 27; Emmanuel SilvaSerna, 33; Efren Rodriguez, 31; and Alonzo QuintanaCastillo, 33. The Sheriff’s Office also arrested Esteban CarrilloGomez, 31, of Grover Beach, also in SLO County.
The remaining arrests included: Rolando Belmontez, 41, of Santa Maria, California; Carlos Jovani Torres, 36, of Portland, Oregon; Carlos Antonio Torres, 67, of Santa Maria; and Joseph Silva, 31, of Orcutt in Santa Barbara County.
The Sheriff’s Office’s gang taskforce requested additional charges be brought against some of the arrested individuals based on the investigation.
“These charges include but are not limited to, felony child endangerment, sales of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school, possession of assault weapons, maintaining a location for the sale and use of a controlled substance and active participation in a criminal street gang,” the release said.
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