Authorities check illegal marijuana grow in Depew
State authorities are speculating that a nil legal marijuana growing operation about 40 miles southwest of Tulsa could have been run by Mexican traffickers.
On Sept. 18, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control agents shutdown an operation of about 1,000 marijuana plants growing on several acres in a wooded area near Depew.
“This illegal operation included a campsite and several indicators that resemble previous patches located by OBN involving teams of Hispanic cultivators living on-site and growing for Mexican drug trafficking organizations,” OB N Spokesman Mark Woodward said in a news release. “OBN has raided nearly a dozen similar sites over the past decade throughout Oklahoma.”
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
Agencies assisting with the investigation include the Bristow Police
Department, Creek County Sheriff's Office, the District 24 Drug Task Force, Creek Nation Lighthorse Police Department, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Creek County District Attorney's Office.
Woodward said legalized medical marijuana cultivation in Oklahoma hasn't eliminated a black market.
“There are thousands of legitimate businesses working hard to follow the rules ,” Woodward said. “Our agency will aggressively target and prosecute those who think the provisions of SQ788 and other state medical marijuana laws don't apply to them."
Citizens can report suspected illegal growing operations to OB Nat 1-800-522-8031.