Four Southern California men were hit with federal drug charges after nearly one ton of marijuana was seized from a 30-foot fishing boat in Long Beach, marking the third major maritime drug interdiction in the region in less than a month. Omar Quintero, 28, of Los Angeles; Miguel Angel Quintero Jr., 38, of Los Angeles; Eliasib Ventura, 34, of Alhambra; and Jonathan Ventura, 31, of Pomona, were arrested Tuesday afternoon at the South Shores launch ramp and charged in a one-count criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
According to court documents, officers with the Long Beach Police Department’s Port Police Division spotted a truck tied to a boat trailer that matched a lookout issued by the Los Angeles Border Enforcement Security Task Force (LA BEST). When LA BEST agents, including HSI investigators from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, searched the vessel, they discovered hundreds of pounds of bundled marijuana hidden onboard. The seizure adds to a mounting wave of drug interdictions along the Southern California coast, pushing total marijuana seizures above three tons in the past 30 days.
All four defendants made their initial appearances Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar. She ordered Miguel Angel Quintero Jr., Eliasib Ventura, and Jonathan Ventura held without bond, while Omar Quintero was released on a $50,000 bond. The four are scheduled to be arraigned next month. If convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, each faces a statutory maximum of 40 years in federal prison.
Tuesday’s bust follows another major seizure just one day earlier, when HSI agents recovered 44 bundles of marijuana—weighing roughly 3,000 pounds—on Santa Rosa Island in Channel Islands National Park. That stash is believed to be linked to an abandoned Mexican panga found on Gaviota Beach by Santa Barbara County deputies. Investigators suspect coordinated maritime smuggling routes running from Ensenada, Mexico, to multiple Southern California landings.
A third incident occurred on September 23, when Long Beach Fire Department lifeguards on marine patrol intercepted a 20-foot pleasure craft in distress. After towing it to Davies Landing, officers discovered more than 1,100 pounds of packaged marijuana. HSI and LA BEST agents arrested two Mexican nationals, Fernando Rodriguez-Fonseca, 39, and Enrique Mendoza-Rodriguez, 47, at the scene. A federal grand jury indicted them on October 11 for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute. Both pleaded not guilty and are set for trial December 6—each facing up to 40 years if convicted.
“As drug traffickers continue to use our waters for smuggling, law enforcement will continue to interdict them,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “These arrests and seizures demonstrate the commitment and cooperation across all levels of law enforcement to stem the flow of drugs into the United States, by whatever means.” The surge in maritime trafficking underscores a growing reliance on small vessels to bypass land checkpoints—a trend federal agencies are now aggressively targeting with coastal surveillance and port-level task forces.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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