U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement Monday on the agency website detailing the nature of an immigration sweep early Thursday last week east of Santa Maria.

The large-scale federal immigration-enforcement operation reported near East Valley Farms, off Telephone Road involved Homeland Security and ICE agents in plain clothes or tactical gear, the deployment of flashbangs, and tactical vehicles.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations said in the website statement that three illegal immigrants from Mexico and a U.S. citizen were arrested during the incident for violation of immigration and federal laws on visa fraud and fraud in foreign labor contracting.

"The scheme involved forcing workers to pay illegal fees and threatening deportation or violence if they fell be

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