$10 Million in Hashish Seized and 6 Arrested

Authorities have seized a record 2,400 pounds of hashish worth about $10 million and broken a well-organized ring made up of six men from Orange and Riverside counties, federal officials said Tuesday.

The hashish, hidden in boxes marked as nails and shipped in a container large enough for a person to stand in, was imported from India and hidden at a remote ranch in Riverside County.

“This was the largest seizure of hashish in Southern California,” according to U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner.

Hashish is not common in Southern California, according to the prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Atty. Janet Hudson.

The presence of so large a shipment may reflect a new trend in drug use and sales, she said. “The price of cocaine has dropped a lot over the last couple of years. From a price of $35,000 or $40,000 per kilo in 1986, it has dropped to $12,000 to $15,000 today.

“The profit margin on cocaine has dropped for a lot of people in the business, and in comparison, (hashish) may not be that bad.”

Customs Service officers were alerted to possible contraband in the shipment, “based on past investigative work,” she said.

According to Hudson, Jeffrey Ray Rankin, 41, of Lake Elsinore is accused of arranging for delivery of the shipment on Aug. 3 to a self-storage facility in Lake Elsinore. The next day, it was shipped to a farm near Lake Mathews that is owned by Dennis Lee Lipper.

At the ranch, the alleged ring unloaded the container and packed the hashish into boxes, authorities said. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, along with Riverside police and sheriff’s deputies seized the hashish at the ranch.

In addition to Rankin and Lipper, Arthur Garcia Cuesta, 41, of Dana Point; Clyde Ronald Gates, 44, of South Laguna; Vance H. Link, 34, of Riverside, and Gene Heitland Fisher, 44, of Laguna Beach were arrested.

Bail was set at $1 million each for Link and Lipper. The other four defendants were ordered held without bail.

Each of the defendants, if convicted, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and up to life sentences, plus fines of up to $16 million, Hudson said.