By Andrew Hoover Eastvale – Recent drug raids in Eastvale have helped uncover a drug trafficking ring spanning through the Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. On Mar. 20, 2013, the DEA and multiple police forces including the Riverside Police Department, had issued search warrants for 26 houses. 15 of the 26 houses were industrial sized grow houses featuring full hydroponic growing equipment, as well as stolen electricity obtained with a sophisticated electrical bypass of the utility meters. When the DEA conducted the raids, authorities seized more than $250k in cash, 7 guns including an assault rifle, and more than 8k marijuana plants. These raids were conducted after the first marijuana grow houses were found in Eastvale last year. On Feb. 10, 2012, the DEA and officers with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant on Cedar Creek Road in Eastvale, when they discovered a residence that had been completely converted into a sophisticated marijuana grow house. During the search, they seized more than 1,800 marijuana plants and more than 50 pounds of processed marijuana. There was a sophisticated electrical bypass system that was used to divert from the meter the electricity used to power the ballasts and lights to grow the marijuana plants. In November 2012, another search was conducted at a residence on Bluebell Street in Eastvale, where authorities discovered that the entire residence had been converted into industrial-sized marijuana grow with 857 marijuana plants. Approximately 43 pounds of marijuana were found inside the residence. After these houses were found, an investigation occured that lead to the 26 house raids last month and the arrest of 10 out of 11 people. Among these arrests was the ring leader of the marijuana trafficking ring Raymond Lam, 42 of Arcadia, who also used the name “Nam A Lam”, who is accused of being the leader of the organization and overseeing the acquisition of residences that were converted into full scale, industrial-type grow houses, which included 1000-2000 plants per house. The others were the lieutenants of the operation which included Simon Lam, 32 of Arcadia; Ken Ho also known as “Ken Lam”, 33 of Arcadia; San S. Voong, also known as Chen Sheng Wang , 35 of Arcadia; Phieu Tran, 35 of El Monte; Augustine Bazan Camacho, 41 of Pomona who was allegedly a veteran “plant tender” who was responsible for maintaining many of the grow houses; Thanh Van Phu, 33 of El Monte; and Luc Kai Phoung, also known as “Wong Fong,” “Al Fong“ and “Na Na,” 50, of Rosemead, who allegedly built the electrical and utility meter by-pass systems used at the grow houses, and Li Ya Si, 42, of Temple City. The eleventh suspect, Andy Tran, 39 of Monterey Park, who used several aliases including “Long Kim Tank”, was allegedly a top lieutenant of Lam, is a fugitive and currently being sought by authorities. The narcotics conspiracy charge in the indictment carries a statutory maximum penalty of life and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in a federal prison.