Police in Oregon seized 500,000 pounds of illegal marijuana in a massive raid.
After retrieving a search warrant last week, the Oregon State Police Southwest Region (OSP) Drug Enforcement Section team searched five industrial-sized warehouses in White City, Oregon. During their search, authorities seized 500,000 pounds of marijuana, which has a street value of $500 million.
While it is now legal for adults over 21 to use cannabis under certain rules, it is illegal to manufacture weed without a license. A gun was also found during the officials’ search; the raid happened over the course of two days, CNN reports.
“This is a very involved investigation and will be ongoing for several weeks,” OSP said in a news release. People working at the warehouses were reportedly migrants who were also living at the locations. CNN reports there was a lack of running water and that the living conditions were “subpar.”
All of the workers were taken into custody, identified, interviewed, and released the news outlet reports. Marijuana sales have risen tremendously in the midst of the pandemic, with $20 billion in sales in 2020 and $26 billion in 2021, CNN reports.
