California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Unified Enforcement Task Force (UCETF) has been cracking down on illegal cannabis operations in the state.
The task force conducted an operation in a rural area of Jupiter in Tuolumne County on Oct. 4, led by the Department of Cannabis Control’s (DCC) Law Enforcement Division and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). In this operation, they targeted unlicensed outdoor cultivation operations, and nine search warrants were served. Officers eradicated 11,260 illegal cannabis plants and destroyed 5,237 lbs. of illegally processed cannabis flower, worth approximately $15 million, according to DCC.
“California is taking immediate and aggressive action to stop illegal cannabis and strengthen the burgeoning legal market throughout the state,” Newsom said. “By shutting down illegal grow sites and applying serious consequences to offenders, we are working to curtail the criminal organizations that are undercutting the regulated cannabis market in California.”
Newsom created this new multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional task force in June to better coordinate agencies to strategically address illegal cannabis operations, including transnational criminal organizations.
“These operations and the criminal and financial penalties that will ultimately result from them reflect the importance and strength in a whole-of-government approach to combat criminally led enterprises, unfair competition, and consumer and environmental threats,” DCC Director Nicole Elliott said.
CDFW Director Charlton Bonham said these illegal operations can be detrimental to the state’s fish and wildlife resources and their habitats.
“Several environmental violations were documented on this operation, including sediment that would impact Eagle Creek during the next rain and hazardous materials that can be lethal to local wildlife. This newly created task force is poised to address these harmful grows from a coordinated approach because they violate so many facets of our state laws,” Bonham said.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office, Tuolumne County Probation, Tuolumne County Code Enforcement, Tuolumne County Animal Control, Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office, Tri-County Drug Enforcement Team, Western El Dorado County Narcotics Enforcement, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, California State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Industrial Relations, CALFIRE, U.S. Department of Forestry, and the California National Guard all supported this operation.