OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 17, 2023) – Only a week after seizing more than 36 tons of black-market marijuana in a single day, the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) have made another major seizure, this time in Pottawatomie County.
OCTF agents and OMMA compliance inspectors and agents served search warrants Nov. 16 at six medical marijuana grow operations near Prague. The sweep yielded 77,362 untraceable and untagged marijuana plants, nearly 2,000 pounds of untraceable and untagged harvested marijuana, and several firearms.
The District 23 Drug Task Force assisted in the operation.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the task force is dedicated to rooting out Oklahoma’s scourge of illegal marijuana operations.
“We are sending a clear message to Mexican drug cartels, Chinese crime syndicates and all others who are endangering public safety through these heinous operations,” he said. “And that message is to get the hell out of Oklahoma.”
The Attorney General’s office has developed a valuable working relationship with the OMMA.
“Everyone at OMMA, especially the tireless investigative and enforcement staff who spent more than 24 hours straight on scene at this operation, works hard every day to regulate the medical marijuana industry Oklahomans voted for,” said OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry. “These farms hid behind the regulated industry for long enough – once we confirmed they were operating illegally, we worked with our partners to shut them down. Attorney General Drummond, Pottawatomie County and everyone involved showed exactly what happens when government agencies put egos aside and work together for the greater good.”
Established through a recently enacted state law, the OCTF works closely with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes related to illegal marijuana grow operations, including human trafficking and the distribution of fentanyl and other deadly drugs.
“None of this would be possible without the incredible partnerships I have with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and local law enforcement agencies throughout the state,” said Drummond. “I greatly appreciate their hard work and professionalism in service of public safety.”
Citizens with information about suspected illegal grow operations can submit a tip to the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General. A complaint form is available at oag.ok.gov by clicking on the “Illegal Marijuana Tipline” tab (https://www.oag.ok.gov/illegal-marijuana-growbusiness-complaint-form). Tips also can be sent to [email protected] and reporters can remain anonymous.