21 detained in Royal Oaks suspected illegal cannabis warehouse raid, no ICE involvement

By Felix Cortez

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    MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KSBW) — An early morning raid at a pot farm on San Juan Road near Pajaro was conducted by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office as part of a criminal investigation into an illegal grow operation.

The activity was first reported around 7:43 a.m. near 1400 San Juan Road in Royal Oaks.

“Every plant has to be tracked. All the processed plant has to be tracked if it’s outside of that. There’s really only two reasons to do that, either because you got it from outside the licensed market and you’re inverting it in, or you’re intending to divert product outside of the licensed market and into the illicit market generally for exportation,” Kevin McInerney, a commander with the California Department of Cannabis Control Law Enforcement Division stated.

Approximately 70 local, state, and federal agents raided the farm, emptying large containers of marijuana.

Although 21 people were detained, they were later released, and no arrests were made.

The warrant, issued by San Bernardino County, involved a suspected illegal grow warehouse. They say the search warrant in Monterey County is tied to a case from their area.

Agents clarified upon arrival that the raid was not part of any immigration enforcement.

“When we got here, we made announcements. Hey, this is not immigration enforcement. We are not ICE. We are the Department of Cannabis Control conducting a state criminal search warrant. Please come out with your hands up. We’ve had to change our tactics. Things have been challenging lately,” McInerney said.

Observers attended the raid to ensure it was not an immigration sweep, following a recent ICE raid on two pot farms near Oxnard that resulted in 300 arrests and turned violent.

“What we see in Camarillo, Oxnard, you know, I was terrible. You know, one person passed away, you know, die because of this situation. So we don’t want that. We don’t want to see it. We don’t want to see things like that. Violence, you know, from one side or another. We don’t want that,” Manuel Abrigo, a local pastor, said.

The same observer interviewed several employees as they exited the facility, indicating they were treated well and no one was injured.

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