Cops Seize $1billion In Marijuana But Is Fraction Of Illegal Business
The largest illegal marijuana bust in Los Angeles County history eradicated only a fraction of the illicit grows in the Southern California high desert, authorities said Wednesday. The bust netted 373,000 plants that would ultimately have been worth $1 billion on the street. The problem is wide-ranging in the Antelope Valley north of Los Angeles, officials said, and has grown tremendously during the coronavirus pandemic. Armed cartel members run massive illegal grows, some spanning dozens of greenhouses, that are detrimental to the state's legal marijuana market. During the bust, authorities also seized dozens of weapons, amid killings and violent incidents linked to the illegal farms, and vehicles, including several water trucks. Due to drought, drug cartels steal water in order to feed their grows and it is believed they have been stealing between two and three million gallons of water a day. An illegal marijuana bust in Los Angeles County netted 373,000 plants which would ultima