Three indicted for marijuana operation on Navajo Nation land [Video]

A federal indictment charges three people for allegedly operating illegal marijuana growing and distribution.The indictment charges 48-year-old Dineh Benally, his father Donald Benally, 74, and 73-year-old Irving Rea Yui. They are charged with manufacturing 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, conspiracy to manufacture and distribute along with other related charges. They are also charged with two counts of knowingly discharging pollutants into federal waters.The indictment states the three ran about 400 acres of marijuana farms in the Shiprock area. That totaled 25 farms in that area. About 1,107 cannabis greenhouses were linked to them as well.Your neighborhood: Local news from KOAT Action 7 NewsTheir charges of polluting water stem from pollutants found in the San Juan River. The indictment claims their alleged actions caused significant environmental damage.Law enforcement seized about 60,000 pounds of marijuana and roughly 260,000 marijuana plants in November 2020 from those 25 farms. Nearly five years later, …