Marijuana found, Royal man among those arrested

MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake man is in custody, and several hundred pounds of marijuana have been seized after local and federal law enforcement officers served three search warrants around the Basin on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

Detectives from Grant County's Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team and agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raided homes at 14929 Fourth Street Northeast in Moses Lake, 10439 Road A-Southwest near Royal City, and 1912 West Atkinson Road near Othello.

As a result, 700 pounds of marijuana and an undisclosed amount of cash were confiscated. Luis M. Farias, 33 of Moses Lake, is in custody on drug-related charges. Charges against others are likely as the investigation continues, according to Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones.

The arrest and search warrants were the result of a several-month-long joint investigation by INET and the DEA. Supervised by the Grant County Sheriff's Office, INET is comprised of detectives from the Sheriff's Office, Washington State Patrol, Quincy Police Department and Moses Lake Police Department.

"I am very proud of the INET detectives and their ability to coordinate this investigation with their DEA colleagues," Jones said. "We are fortunate in Grant County to have strong partnerships with federal agencies, and this investigation demonstrates how effective those partnerships are."

- Staff report