On Monday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests of 13 people involved with a robbery at a North County cannabis processing plant.
The incident took place on Jan. 16, 2024, at around 4:15 a.m.
Witnesses say they saw at least seven people run out of the plant with bags of cannabis.
Deputies responded to the burglary but did not arrive until the suspects had already left the scene.
They discovered at least 500 pounds of processed and packaged marijuana had been stolen; the burglars also broke into a safe.
The losses amounted to an estimated $500,000.
After completing a follow-up investigation, a detective with the Sheriff's Cannabis Compliance Team connected the robbery to a similar crime that happened in San Jose.
A multi-agency investigation ensued that looked into a crew of Oakland gang members who were targeting cannabis-related facilities.
Last week, the California Department of Justice arrested and charged 22 people in connection with the crimes—13 of which were involved in the northern San Luis Obispo County burglary.
The SLO County Sheriff's Office believes the suspects are responsible for at least 15 dispensary burglaries in nine different California counties.
A total of over $1 million and almost a thousand pounds of cannabis were stolen as a result of the robberies.
