OAKLAND, Calif. - California Highway Patrol investigators working on a cargo theft investigation ended up with a very different discovery when they rolled up to an Oakland warehouse parking lot along the 1300 block of Fifth Street last Tuesday.
The CHP officers were looking for two stolen trailers in a cargo theft investigation. They located the trailers in the parking lot, but it was a surprise when they entered the adjacent building.
"When they arrived, these two trailers are immediately next to a large warehouse and part of our operation and search warrant is to allow us to enter the warehouse and make sure there aren't people inside," Sgt. Andrew Barclay, a CHP Golden Gate Division spokesperson, said. "When these investigators made entry into that building, they entered a room with what they believed at the time to be hundreds of marijuana plants."
The Department of Cannabis Control said Monday they counted a total of 25,276 cannabis plants, valued at$20,852,700, hidden in the warehouse as part of a massive illegal marijuana cultivation operation.
"The majority of the plants were relatively small, cause it was likely a clone factory. So it was intended to develop lots of plants for sale to others," Kevin McInerney, Northern Commander of the California Department of Cannabis Control said.
McInerney says they also seized two firearms and found bags of illegal pesticides..
"No pesticides labeled other than in English are allowed for us in the United States," McInerney said. "Plus, we don't know what the pesticides are."
McInerney says the illicit market is large. According to the state's Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force (UCETF), more than $254 million in unlicensed cannabis and products were seized during 2024, and Alameda County has been one of the most active sites in the state for illegal cannabis operation busts.
"It completely undermines the legal market and the legal market provides products that are safe, have been tested, have been grown safely...versus an illegal market where there are heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides," McInerney said.
The Department of Cannabis Control is also concerned about links to organized crime.
"All we're doing by making purchase of illegal cannabis, is we are funding more money to the Chinese money-laundering for the Mexican cartels," McInerney said.
So far, no arrests have been made.