All photos courtesy of Kern County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities in Kern County have dismantled an underground cannabis operation discovered in the desert. Three people were also arrested in connection with the case.
Around 8:30 a.m. on August 4, authorities from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force carried out a search warrant on an illicit underground cannabis grow operation located in the desert north of Boron, the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
During the raid, two suspects were apprehended while allegedly trying to escape.
Authorities reportedly eradicated a total 17,650 cannabis plants from the underground grow site and seized approximately 1,069 pounds of processed cannabis.
The grow operation utilized several buried sea trains, equipped with advanced electrical and ventilation systems and powered by a large diesel generator, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Kern County Code Compliance officials also identified numerous code violations and significant safety hazards at the site; the structures, outbuildings, and underground sea trains were ultimately declared unsafe for occupancy.
Three individuals were arrested and charged with multiple alleged offenses, including maintaining a place for drug sales, cannabis cultivation, possession of cannabis for sales, resisting arrest, disturbing the earth, stockpiling trash, and illegal water discharge related to cannabis cultivation, as well as conspiracy to commit a crime.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the individuals as Qingxue Zhang, 57; Siyun Cao, 32; and Xiyyu Zou, 53.
The suspects were booked into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, Lerdo Justice Facility.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the operation was carried out with support from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Cannabis Enforcement Program, the Eradication and Prevention of Illicit Cannabis task force, and the Kern County Probation Department.
