{"id":585715,"date":"2021-07-07T20:35:47","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T00:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=585715"},"modified":"2021-07-07T20:35:50","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T00:35:50","slug":"authorities-seize-more-than-1-billion-worth-of-illegal-pot-in-the-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/authorities-seize-more-than-1-billion-worth-of-illegal-pot-in-the-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"Authorities Seize More Than $1 Billion Worth Of Illegal Pot In The Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fauthorities-seize-more-than-1-billion-worth-of-illegal-pot-in-the-desert%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=585715&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Marijuana-plant.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>On Wednesday, officials in Los Angeles County announced that law enforcement had seized more than 16 tons of illegal cannabis in what was described as the largest marijuana eradication effort in the history of the Sheriff\u2019s Department.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/news\/local\/la-county-sheriff-marijuana-pot-billion-dollar-seized-plants-lancaster-antelope-valley\/2633199\/\">NBC4 reported<\/a>, \u201cSheriff Alex Villanueva showed photos of the sprawling operation at a morning news conference to discuss details of a recent 10-day operation that seized 373,000 marijuana plants and 33,480 pounds of harvested pot with an estimated street value of nearly $1.2 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The multi-agency operation targeted the Antelope Valley in northern L.A. County, which is part of the Mojave Desert. One of the 205 locations served with search warrants had more than 70 greenhouses cultivating plants unlawfully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of these grows have been directly tied to Mexican drug trafficking organizations and Asian and Armenian organized crime groups,\u201d said Villanueva. \u201cWhat we want to do is send a clear message to the cartels and anyone doing illegal operations in the High Desert: your days are over, and we are coming for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even though California legalized recreational marijuana sales in 2018, excessive taxes have resulted in a thriving black market.<\/p>\n<p>Representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife joined Villanueva along with several Republican elected officials, including L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Assemblyman Tom Lackey, Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris, and U.S. Rep Mike Garcia.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"5.28\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today I met with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepMikeGarcia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepMikeGarcia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TomLackey36?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TomLackey36<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cityoflancaster?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cityoflancaster<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kathrynbarger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kathrynbarger<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaliforniaDFW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CaliforniaDFW<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaWaterBoards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CaWaterBoards<\/a> to discuss serious safety concerns in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CountyofLA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CountyofLA<\/a> regarding illegal marijuana grows.<\/p>\n<p>Full Video: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lhgfPda6tl\">https:\/\/t.co\/lhgfPda6tl<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/e0Ixpvksyp\">pic.twitter.com\/e0Ixpvksyp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LACoSheriff\/status\/1412874530658209792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Congressman Garcia recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/news\/local\/la-county-sheriff-marijuana-pot-billion-dollar-seized-plants-lancaster-antelope-valley\/2633199\/\">said<\/a> he had taken a helicopter tour over the area and seen \u201chundreds, if not thousands, of these illegal nurseries throughout our desert being manned by primarily illegal immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to be very clear that these are not mom and pop or legal operations that we are fighting,\u201d he continued. \u201cThese are large-scale illegal operations in many cases being run by several different cartels right here in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Villanueva, illegal marijuana cultivations have caused other crimes in the vicinity to increase. He estimated law enforcement had raided about 40% of the sites on their radar and vowed to address them all eventually.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThreats by armed individuals against citizens living in close proximity to the illegal marijuana grows, and passersby on public roadways near grow sites have occurred on a regular basis and are increasing in frequency,\u201d said Villanueva.<\/p>\n<p>Sheriff Villanueva said the illegal grow operations are also a threat to the environment and wildlife. Toxic chemicals contaminating the land nearby are suspected to have caused the deaths of two bears found by officials, he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7.com\/marijuana-water-drug-cartels-pot\/10866402\/\">ABC7 reported<\/a> that Villanueva blamed drug cartels for \u201cstealing water in the middle of the night from farmers.\u201d According to the outlet, \u201cVillanueva said the stolen water is typically loaded onto tanker trucks and then delivered to the grow sites in the area.\u201d He said growers also steal millions of gallons from illegal wells.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement arrested 131 people during the operation and seized 33 firearms and 65 vehicles, including two water trucks. Authorities said they also rescued 84 dogs.<\/p>\n<p>Villanueva said more than 400 personnel from multiple departments and agencies were part of the operation, including DEA agents; California National Guard; California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Kern County Sheriff\u2019s Department; Riverside County Sheriff\u2019s Department; San Bernardino County Sheriff\u2019s Department; and Ventura County Sheriff\u2019s Department.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, officials in Los Angeles County announced that law enforcement had seized more than 16 tons of illegal cannabis in what was described as the largest marijuana eradication effort &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2314222,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Marijuana-plant.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Authorities Seize More Than $1 Billion Worth Of Illegal Pot In The Desert","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-585715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Marijuana-plant.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Authorities Seize More Than $1 Billion Worth Of Illegal Pot In The Desert","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2314222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}