YAKIMA, Wash. -- Three relatives were arraigned Thursday on charges of growing marijuana in a secluded forest area off U.S. Highway 97.

Jorge Omar Salazar-Villalobos, 18, Fortunato Villalobos-Peralta, 26, and Rubisel Villalobos-Martinez, 19, were charged earlier this month in Yakima County Superior Court in connection with a 60-plant marijuana operation near Satus Pass.

The men — all of whom also face immigration charges — were arrested July 29 near the area where a statewide cannabis eradication team had discovered a 42,000-plant operation earlier that day. Court records identify Villalobos-Peralta as an uncle to the two younger men, who are cousins.

Inside the men’s vehicle, Yakima Sheriff’s Office detectives discovered potting containers, gallon milk jugs and gardening tools typically used to tend marijuana, according to court records.

— Melissa Sánchez