LA County's Largest Drug Bust in History Involves Suspected Mexican Cartels

Yaqui for Borderland Beat

                   

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department documented the biggest drug bust in its history on Tuesday and officials expect Mexican cartels are to blame.

Just north of L.A. in Antelope Valley, California, officials tracked down, identified and destroyed 70 to 80 hoop- house styled greenhouses filled with illegal marijuana plots in the open desert.

Law enforcement authorities cleared numerous illegal marijuana grow locations in the Antelope Valley today in what the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deemed “the largest operation ever to take place in the history of LASD.''

Sheriff Alex Villanueva has since launched an operation with up to 500 deputies and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to hunt down and destroy other marijuana plantations.

Authorities in Los Angeles County have announced the bulldozing of 75 greenhouses in what they are calling the largest bust in the county’s history of illicit cannabis grows.

The department carried out a series of raids in Northern L.A.’s Antelope Valley early on Tuesday morning that reportedly involved more than 25 search warrants for multiple locations. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the United States Army, and several sheriff’s departments from neighboring counties contributed to the bust, which involved over 400 personnel.

By late morning, the sheriff's department reported that authorities have made “several arrests'' and expected to recover “several thousand pounds of illegally grown marijuana by the end of today.''

Sheriff's officials said the multi-agency operation was designed “to take down illegal cartel operated marijuana groves impacting farmers, families, and businesses.'' Also involved in the operation were the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Army and sheriff's officials from Ventura and Kern counties.

The department brought in massive bulldozers to raid the scene, completely leveling the illegal grows – and there are reportedly hundreds more to tackle. One tented location was alone appraised at approximately $50 million worth of product.

Villanueva revealed to Fox News that these locations are hot spots for criminal behavior with reports of cartel members threatening residents with firearms. The L.A. plantations also hog water from local alfalfa, carrot, and potato farmers.

"The origins of the sheriff’s department date back to 1850 when this was the Wild West," the sheriff said. "And we introduced law and order back in those days. Now, come 2021, we’re going to have to redo the same concept. We’re going to reintroduce this law and order and make sure we drive these people out of business and give this community back to the residents."

“We’re going to send a loud and clear message to all the cartels in the illegal operations: your days are over, here; and you need to pack up and leave, or we’re going to find you,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who also tweeted about the incident, said in a statement.

Villanueva says that the number of illegal cannabis production operations has exploded over the past 12 months, increasing from about 150 farms to more than 500.

Reportedly, the size of the operations has also increased. While the average size of cartel-grown cannabis operations consisted of about eight greenhouses last year, the number now stands at about 15, according to the sheriff’s department.

On Tuesday, one 75-greenhouse farm covering 10 acres was razed by authorities, who say that illicit cannabis growers steal water from farmers, put licensed cannabis growers out of business and are linked to violent crime.

A total of 23- 25 arrests were made, with five firearms, two water trucks and “millions” of dollars worth of illicit cannabis seized.

Additionally, seven “mixed-breed” dogs, including four puppies, were confiscated during the raid. They are now in the care of a local dog rescue.

The department plans to continue efforts to eradicate illegal grow ops.

Five men at the scene of the raid were taken into department custody who identified themselves as Mexican nationals who just arrived in the U.S. within the last month.

Sources: FoxNews / Kfiam / edmontonjournal