From the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

On 12-07-2012 at about 0800 hours, Humboldt County Drug Task Force and the Rio Dell Police assisted the California State Department of Justice/ Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement with a search warrant at a residence located in the 1000 block of Riverside Drive, Rio Dell.

Officers detained a subject, who lived at the residence and was identified as Nikolai Kaley Erickson age 37. When officers searched the residence they located 279 individual one pound bags of processed marijuana bud. Additionally another approximately 40 pounds of loose marijuana bud were located in the residence inside of pickle barrels. Officers seized $12,482 dollars in cash from the residence for possible asset forfeiture.

Erickson was arrested for possession of marijuana for sales and was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility in Eureka. Erickson’s bail was set at $ 75,000 dollars.

At the same time that officers were serving a search warrant at Erickson’s residence in Rio Dell, Humboldt County Drug Task Force Agents assisted California State Department of Justice Officers with a search warrant at two parcels located off Bear Creek Road, Dinsmore which are owned by Erickson.

At the property in Dinsmore, officers located evidence of an outdoor marijuana growing operation. Officers detained 9 subjects, who told officers they were hired by Erickson to help manicure the marijuana. Officers seized over 377 pounds of dried marijuana bud from the property. The nine subjects were identified and release from the scene.

A street value of the marijuana seized in this investigation is over one million dollars.

This case is still under investigation by the State of California Department of Justice/ Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.