More than 100 law officers raided homes in Umatilla, Morrow and Grant counties early Thursday morning and arrested 10 people on federal drug charges.

The raid was the culmination of a long-term investigation by the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team and other state and federal law enforcement agencies. They executed 22 search warrants in connection with a drug distribution organization.

According to a press release, the search warrants related to a methamphetamine and marijuana operation allegedly led by Carlos Joaquin Barragan, of Grant County.

Detectives seized more than six ounces of methamphetamine, a dozen firearms, scales, drug paraphernalia, drug records and cell phones.

Barragan and seven other individuals were charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 5 grams of methamphetamine. Three men and two women were arraigned in federal court in Portland today on those charges: Barragan; John Knight, 63, of La Grande; Marietta Gallagher, 59, of Irrigon; Matilda Williams, 49, of Hermiston; and Rogelio Chavez, 29, of Hermiston.

Shane Soros, 42, and Guillermo Morfin Ortiz, 47, also of Hermiston, are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, October 5, 2009.

Pedro Soto-Contreras, 23, of Pasco, Washington, appeared in Federal court in Yakima, Wash. today.

During the course of that investigation, on August 19, in Grant County officers seized 23,000 marijuana plants growing on United States Forest Service land, three guns including an SKS assault rifle, and arrested four people found living and working in the marijuana grow.

The early morning raid Thursday in Grant County resulted in the seizure of three more firearms, several pounds of marijuana, and marijuana seeds.

Barragan and six other individuals involved in cultivating the plants were indicted for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana. In addition to Barragan, the indictment charges Sergio Escalera-Garcia, 35, and Ricardo Bravo, 30, of Roosevelt, Washington.

Barragan made his first appearance in court Friday. Four other defendants were charged in separate indictments issued in September: Carmen Ramirez-Romero, 21, Baldemar Garcia-Mendoza, 24, Efrain Garcia-Mendoza, 25, all of Fife, Wash., and Jose Luis Escalera-Garcia, 23, of Roosevelt, Wash. Baldemar Garcia-Mendoza, Jose Luis Escalera-Garcia and Ramirez-Romero were also indicted for possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment, and a fine of $2 million.

The charge of conspiracy to manufacture more than 1,000 marijuana plants carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a fine of $4 million. Possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of 60 months in prison.

Law enforcement officers have been investigating the drug ring since April. All defendants pled not guilty to all charges.

Trial is set for December 8, 2009, before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Jones.