“In the interest of protecting licensed cannabis operations, as well as consumers and our environment, law enforcement officers are investigating illegal operations. This effort also works to protect community members that may live and or work in the area of this illegal activity.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
RIVERSIDE – On July 28, 2022, law enforcement officers seized more than 34,000 marijuana plants and more than 4,600 pounds of processed cannabis from a large property in the unincorporated area of San Jacinto in Riverside County.
The Riverside County Cannabis Regulation Task Force (CRTF) served a search warrant at a business in the 18700 block of Bridge Street. The business on the property is a permitted industrial hemp farm but is not permitted to grow or sell marijuana.
On the property, the task force found 124 greenhouses in which marijuana was being cultivated. The plants were removed and seized for destruction. Also found on the property was a ghost handgun.
The following day, a follow-up search warrant was served in Temecula at the home of the person with the permit for the industrial hemp farm. Additional evidence, including several pounds of marijuana, was seized.
No one has been arrested or charged and the investigation is continuing.
CRTF was formed to protect properly licensed legal cannabis businesses and enforce regulatory requirements that protect the environment and consumers. It does not shut down legally operating facilities but works to ensure fair business practices and to stop criminal activity. Agencies currently on the task force include the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, the Corona, Hemet, and Riverside police departments, the state Department of Cannabis Control, the California National Guard – Counter Drug Task Force, and the Riverside County Code Enforcement Department.
CRTF was assisted in the operation by other agencies including the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, which oversees permitting and compliance of industrial hemp farms in Riverside County.
