Oregon State Police officers seized $500 million in marijuana Thursday during a single drug bust in Jackson County, Oregon.
Police executed a search warrant Thursday at a location that included five warehouses full of marijuana, according to an Oregon State Police Facebook post. Over 100 people were also detained during the investigation.
Police in Oregon say they have seized 250 tons of illegal marijuana worth an estimated $500 million from several industrial warehouses in White City, a small community near the California border. https://t.co/Ccyvr4hGnt
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 20, 2021
“During the operation, which spanned over two days, an epic amount of illegal, processed marijuana and a firearm were seized,” the Facebook post reads.
Approximately 500,000 pounds of marijuana were found over the two-day investigation. Police estimate the street value of the haul to be around $500 million. (RELATED: $1.7 Million Worth Of ‘Washed Up’ Cocaine, 62 Pounds Of Marijuana Found In Florida Keys)
Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler told lawmakers earlier in the week that the crime rate associated with marijuana farms has grown dramatically, ABC News reported.
“We’ve had stabbings, robberies, thefts, burglaries, homicides, sex crimes, motor vehicle accidents, DUIs, all related to the influx of the marijuana-cannabis industry in our in our valley,” Sickler said, according to ABC News. “It is certainly an issue we deal with on a daily basis here.”
Authorities in Los Angeles County, California, seized $1 billion worth of marijuana July 8. The operation was the largest in U.S. history.
“This investigation and subsequent seizure of dried, processed Marijuana is one of the largest in Oregon State Police history and highlights the enormity of the critical issue in Southern Oregon,” an Oregon State Police spokesperson told the Daily Caller in a statement.