A combined force of 500 federal agents, law enforcement officers, and National Guardsmen carried out a massive enforcement activity in California on Wednesday at illegal marijuana grow sites spanning 787 acres, which led to the arrest of over 70 illegal immigrants.
[RELATED: Illegal Chinese Neurotoxins Are Coming to Maine’s Blackmarket Cannabis Grows: Maine Threat Brief…]
The operation targeted a grow site in the Southern California town of Thermal, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) requested assistance from a variety of agencies, including the National Guard, given to the magnitude of the operation.
Footage from reporter Ali Bradley shows parts of the operation, featuring military vehicles driving by what appears to be a vast city composed primarily of campers and greenhouses.
The operation led to the arrest of between 70 and 75 illegal immigrants, and one U.S. citizen who attempted to obstruct the operation.
“Preliminary numbers, subject to change, are as follows: 70 to 75 undocumented migrants were arrested. At least one US citizen was arrested for impeding law-enforcement. The operations covered 787 acres,” said the DEA.
In one case, authorities found a trailer that was padlocked with two people stuck inside, raising concerns about possible human trafficking and forced labor at the illegal grow site.
Footage of the illegal site shows evidently poor living conditions for the illegal workers.
Though the DEA did not release information on who was operating the vast illegal operation, it appears to fit with other similar operations in California, Maine, and other states operated by Chinese organized criminals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Footage of some of the arrested illegal immigrants reveal that they are East Asian.
Journalist Ali Bradley provided additional footage of the operation and claimed that the DEA is now questioning the illegal immigrants they arrested to determine if they were trafficked into the U.S. and if they were being forced to work at the illegal marijuana sites against their will.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, and the National Guard all assisted in the operation.
The DEA did not specify how much illegal marijuana was seized, and revealed few additional details about the illegal cannabis operation.
