Four Arrested with $2.1 Million of Marijuana North of Santa Cruz

Four men from out of the area were arrested Saturday for allegedly smuggling 1,200 pounds of marijuana at Shark Tooth Beach north of Santa Cruz's Bonny Doon Beach.

The men were spotted at 9:40 a.m. by a California State Lifeguard who said they were acting suspiciously and were near a beached Panga boat. He alerted officials who arrived from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office, Capitola Police K-9 Unit, Cal Fire Law Enforcement, UCSC Police and the CHP.

The Coast Guard and Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol recovered the 35-foot boat, commonly used by drug smugglers, police said. Agents recovered 175 bundles of marijuana from the beach, estimated at a street value of $2.1 million.

Other agents from Homeland Security, the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team's Narcotics Task Force and Gang Task Force also joined the investigation.

Arrested were Silviano Davalos, Jr., 30, of San Luis, AZ; Jose Luis Martinez-Ruiz, 34, of Los Angeles; Alex Cerna, 24, of Los Angeles and Jose Martin Garcia, 30, also of Los Angeles. They were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on suspicion of drug trafficking.

"On this case they were interrupted bring the marijuana into Santa Cruz," said Mario Sulay, Task Force Commander for the Santa Cruz Anti-Crime Team.  "But Santa Cruz was only the entry point.  I do not believe that Santa Cruz was the market for this marijuana.  I believe the marijuana was destined to go east from California."