Capps holds panga prevention meeting
April 23, 2014
Congresswoman Lois Capps met with federal, state and local law enforcement officials Monday to disuss warding off panga boat smuggling operations along the Central Coast. [KSBY]
Law enforcement officials from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties attended the meeting. The gathering took place in the city of Santa Barbara.
Between May 2012 and February 2014, 12 documented pangas have smuggled drugs into San Luis Obispo County, according to Sheriff Ian Parkinson. Four of those incidents resulted in a total of 62 arrests and the seizure of about $8.8 million of marijuana.
Parkinson requested that the board of supervisors approve a $500,000 in federal grant funding for the sheriff’s office to acquire a panga-defense boat and other equipment for tracking smugglers. The 27-foot boat costs nearly $350,000.
The board approved Parkinson’s request during its meeting Tuesday.
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