“Ongoing efforts to rid California of illicit cannabis grows and cultivation operations help to protect consumers, legal cannabis operations and California’s finances.  We appreciate the work conducted by UCETF and thank the law enforcement officers for their continued work identifying and investigating these illegal operations.”

–CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

SACRAMENTO – On December 31, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce (UCETF) recently seized close to $23 million in illicitly cultivated cannabis in East Oakland.

In the operations, UCETF seized more than 21,000 illegal cannabis plants worth a total of $17.8 million. The searches also led to the seizure of more than $10,000 in cash, and more than 3,000 pounds of illicit cannabis flower worth more than $5 million.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) led the enforcement operations with support from the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and the Oakland Police Department.

“This successful operation, led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is one of several recent efforts by the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and preserve the integrity of California’s regulated cannabis market,” said Nathaniel Arnold, Chief of Law Enforcement at CDFW.“As shown by the amounts seized in these search warrants, these large-scale illegal operations are a burden on California’s valuable environmental resources and need to be removed.”

Since inception, UCETF has seized and destroyed over 162 tons worth of illegal cannabis worth an estimated $536 million through over 350 operations. The taskforce has also eradicated 526,037 plants, seized 167 firearms, and arrested 59 individuals.