ROYAL CITY - A Moses Lake man will appear in U.S. District Court in Spokane today following his arrest on Tuesday and the confiscation of 700 pounds of marijuana.

Luis M. Farias, 33, was charged with the manufacture of marijuana plants, according to information from the court. He was arrested after Drug Enforcement Agency and Grant County Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Task Force officers served search warrants on three locations Tuesday night.

Detectives from the INET and DEA searched homes on Fourth Street Northwest in Moses Lake, Road A Southwest near Royal City and West Atkinson Road near Othello in Adams County. "Three separate marijuana grows," said Ryan Rectenwald, chief deputy in charge of the INET. The plants were still in the ground, so the reported weight includes leaves, stems and roots, he told the Columbia Basin Herald. Officers seized an undisclosed amount of cash as well as the marijuana at the three locations.

The raid was the result of a joint investigation that lasted several months and is still ongoing, Rectenwald said. More people may be charged.

"We are fortunate in Grant County to have strong partnerships with federal agencies, and this investigation demonstrates how effective those partnerships are," Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones said. "I am very proud of the INET detectives and their ability to coordinate this investigation with their DEA colleagues." The task force is comprised of Grant County Sheriff's detectives and officers from the state patrol, Moses Lake Police Department and Quincy Police Department.