Major ag theft ring involving cartel uncovered in the Central Valley

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Tulare, Merced and Fresno County sheriffs announced Tuesday a major agriculture crime bust stretching across the Central Valley.

They say cartels are stealing farm equipment and taking it to Mexico.

Deputies have recovered dozens of pieces of stolen heavy farm equipment tied to 'Operation Tractor Pull.'

Authorities say they've now made six arrests, the latest happening Tuesday morning.

They're still searching for five more suspects wanted for crimes over the past year.

"This is a large scale theft ring impacting our farmers, our ranchers and our agricultural community," said Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

Boudreaux said some of the men have criminal histories related to drug trafficking.

He said they are now stealing the heavy equipment and taking it across the southern border to be used in Mexico.

In all, 24 tractors, backhoes and excavators have been recovered but detectives say 8 to 10 pieces of equipment are in Mexico and considered unrecoverable.

Sheriff Vern Warnke says the ag crimes impact everyone by driving produce prices up and helping criminals earn a profit.

"Not only have the cartels been human trafficking, narcotics and guns, it has now hit our agricultural community where everybody in here likes to go to the store and grab something to eat," said Warnke.

The sheriffs say because this is not considered a violent crime in California, prosecutors will have a hard time keeping these suspects behind bars.

"We can't put them in jail for an extended amount of time which sends no message of accountability," said Boudreaux.

Boudreaux added they're working with border patrol and calling on the federal government to work with the Mexican government to help crack down on criminals impacting the way of life for citizens in both countries.

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