Federal agents uncover nearly 790 acres of illegal marijuana growing operations.
Federal officers on June 18 arrested up to 75 illegal migrants near Coachella, California, during a massive operation to take down three illegal marijuana growing operations, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials reported.
At least one U.S. citizen was also arrested for impeding law enforcement, the DEA added.
Anthony Chrysanthis, deputy special agent in charge for the DEA’s Los Angeles Field division, on June 20 described the conditions at the three sites.
“A DEA-led operation at Thermal California this week targeted three illegal marijuana sites, exposing working and living conditions that were less than favorable,” Chrysanthis said. “In fact, scorching temperatures reached 112 degrees during this operation.”
Several federal and local agencies executed search warrants on the illegal grow operations June 18, which covered nearly 790 acres in Thermal, just a few minutes south of Coachella in the inland desert region of Southern California.
“Due to the magnitude and topography of this operation, DEA has requested support from multiple federal partners,” the agency reported on social media platform X.
Video shared on X showed massive indoor warehouses filled with mature marijuana plants, sophisticated lighting, and equipment at one of the sites.
The grounds appeared professionally designed with gravel covering the ground, white trailers, and barbed-wire fencing surrounding it.
DEA agents were seen in a second video June 18 entering a trailer on one of the sites and prying a door open at another trailer with crowbars.
Another video posted online June 20 showed DEA personnel, and their partnering agencies, executing search warrants during the seizure. The agents found two men locked inside a trailer, according to Chrysanthis.
The video showed a room inside the trailer with filthy makeshift beds, a rudimentary bathroom area, and garbage, bottles, and medication scattered throughout.
“These operators were not planning on stopping,” he said. “Instead, we saw evidence of additional construction.”
The response included teams from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Customs and Border Protection (CBP); Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Marshal’s Office; Internal Revenue Service; the FBI; National Guard; Department of Defense and U.S. Army; and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms units.
Black-market cannabis has proliferated in California. In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom reported officials seized $534 million worth of illegal marijuana.
Since 2019, officials have seized about $2.8 billion of the illegal drug, according to the governor.
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