The L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. led an operation that confiscated more than 33,000 pounds of illegal cannabis from cartel-run farms, in what they are calling the largest seizure in county history.
The multiple-agency operation took began on June 6, in unincorporated areas of Lancaster and the Antelope Valley, with the 372,000 cannabis plants estimated to be worth $1.19 billion as they served more than 200 search warrants, leading to 131 arrests.
“This became the largest operation in the history of the L.A. County Sheriff’s,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday. “It was developed to put an end to the hundreds of illegal marijuana cultivations that are occurring in the Antelope Valley.”
More than 400 personnel were involved in the bust, including deputies from Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern and L.A. Sheriff’s departments, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the California National Guard.
Sheriff Villanueva said that neighborhood residents provided months worth of tips and complaints about the marijuana farms, with water being stolen from local vegetable farmers.
In 2021, there were more than 500 illegal marijuana farms identified in the Antelope Valley, with an estimated 600 million gallons of water used in four harvests a year.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the impacts of the cartel-influence marijuana farms included human trafficking, seizures of residential property, threats to residents and pollution.
“What began as water theft, has exploded to become the infiltration of organized crime groups in the Antelope Valley who are operating internationally,” Barger said Wednesday. “This illegal activity is impacting the quality of life for residents and businesses and if left unaddressed, will have long-lasting and devastating effects in the region.”
The first day of the operation led law enforcement to the largest of the operations, with the farm having 74 greenhouses full of cartel-grown marijuana. The greenhouses were bulldozed with suspects attempting to run from the scene or surrendering without resistance.
“What we want to do is send a clear and loud message to the cartels and anyone doing illegal operations in the high desert,” Villanueva said. “Your days are over and we’re coming for you.”
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