In the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 17, 2022, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted a joint operation to take down multiple illegal marijuana grows in the Antelope Valley.

Almost a year after the most extensive drug operation in the history of the Sheriff’s Department took place, Sheriff Alex Villanueva returned to let everyone know that the operation continues to this day. In the first four months of 2022, the Marijuana Eradication Team (MET) served 116 marijuana cultivation-related search warrants. One hundred seven people were arrested, 100 were misdemeanors, and seven were felony arrests. Approximately 101,090 marijuana plants were seized, 53 firearms were confiscated, and 14,980 pounds of harvested marijuana were destroyed.

Continuing in the spring of 2022, LASD narcotics investigators conducted aerial reconnaissance with the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force. They identified 350 outdoor cultivation sites in the Antelope Valley, down from over 750 locations in 2021. This reduction in cultivation sites is directly related to increased enforcement efforts in the Antelope Valley.

MET investigators served search warrants at 80% of the identified sites and anticipate they will have 100% eradicated by the end of the fall of 2022. Most of these sites are connected to Mexican Cartels, Asian organized crime, and other organized crime groups. These illegal cultivation sites threaten the safety of communities, the environment, and wildlife. The unpermitted water wells being drilled to water the illegal crops affect underground aquifers.

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