The largest illegal marijuana bust in Los Angeles County history eradicated only a fraction of the illicit grows in the Southern California high desert, authorities said Wednesday.
The bust netted 373,000 plants that would ultimately have been worth $1 billion on the street.
The problem is wide-ranging in the Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles, officials said, and has grown tremendously during the coronavirus pandemic.
Armed cartel members run massive illegal grows, some spanning dozens of greenhouses, that are detrimental to the state's legal marijuana market.
During the bust, authorities also seized dozens of weapons, amid killings and violent incidents linked to the illegal farms, and vehicles, including several water trucks.
Due to drought, drug cartels steal water in order to feed their grows and it is believed they have been stealing between two and three million gallons of water a day.
An illegal marijuana bust in Los Angeles County netted 373,000 plants which would ultimately have been worth $1 billion on the street, as well as dozens of weapons, amid killings and violent incidents linked to illegal farms, and vehicles, including several water trucks (pictured: part of a cache of confiscated firearms)
California broadly legalized recreational marijuana sales in January 2018. But the black market is thriving, in part because hefty legal marijuana taxes send consumers looking for better deals.
Multiple law enforcement agencies carried out a 10-day operation in the Antelope Valley last month that resulted in 131 arrests and the seizure of more than 33,000 pounds of harvested marijuana plants.
Yet the undertaking only demolished 205 illegal grows out of the 500 seen by aerial surveillance in the area. Last year, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said only 150 illegal grows were identified in the Antelope Valley. Scores more exist in other nearby counties.
The cartel members threaten residents and steal millions of gallons of water amid a severe drought, Villanueva said. The growing operations have poisoned streams and groundwater with harmful pesticides and harmed wildlife and plants.
Officials sought to differentiate between the Antelope Valley operation and the legal market.
The undertaking demolished 205 illegal grows out of the 500 seen by aerial surveillance in the area (pictured: Alex Villanueva points to a picture of some 500 illegal cannabis operations at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday)
California broadly legalized recreational marijuana sales in January 2018. But the black market is thriving, in part because hefty legal marijuana taxes send consumers looking for better deals. Villanueva pointed out that this bust wasn't 'a war on the legal cannabis business'
'This is not a war on the legal cannabis business in California,' said U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia, who represents the area.
Barger said that her office had received reports of alleged members of these cartels taking over other people's properties and threatening their lives if they tried to interfere, the Daily News reported.
She added: 'This issue is plaguing the Antelope Valley and has the potential to spread throughout Los Angeles County.'
Illegal drug businesses boomed despite the stay at home message during the Covid-19 pandemic, as police shortages and higher demand meant drug cartels continued their work, Foreign Policy reported.
Mayor Rex Parris, of Lancaster, California, explained that they were talking about cartels, not 'mom and pop people selling marijuana that they grew in their backyard'
Parris lifts a firearm at a news conference for the Antelope Valley Marijuana Eradication Operation downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday
In California, it is legal for adults aged 21 and older to consume cannabis, posses up to an ounce and grow up to six marijuana plants at home. Sales of marijuana from licensed retail outlets began on January 1, 2018.
Those aged 18 or older can use the drug if they have a qualifying physician's recommendation or a county-issued medical marijuana identification card.
However, the legal industry still struggles to compete with the illicit market, and last month the California Legislature approved a $100 million boost to the legal marijuana market, with Los Angeles receiving the largest grant.
Officials believe international cartels are at the root of the large, illegal marijuana farms in LA County, CBS News reported.
Mayor Rex Parris, of Lancaster, California, said at a press conference on Wednesday: 'We're talking about the cartels. We are not talking about mom and pop people selling marijuana that they grew in their backyard. This is the cartels.
Mayor Parris said that they are 'very very close to driving down the freeway and seeing bodies hanging from the overpasses'
'We are very very close to driving down the freeway and seeing bodies hanging from the overpasses. That is what's coming.'
Water theft, human trafficking, pollution and threats to safety and security are caused by the illegal marijuana cartel trade, Barger said.
While there are places which can legally sell the drug, many are working on a temporary, provisional licence due to the costly, time-consuming process of getting a permanent one, which would be renewed on an annual basis, the LA Times reported.
In 2019, industry officials estimated that the ratio of unlicensed businesses to those with permits was at three for every one.
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