Stanislaus sheriff investigating possible human trafficking after marijuana raid
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office destroyed almost 18,000 allegedly illegal marijuana plants and detained more than 30 people Friday during raids on two sites east of Empire with possible ties to human trafficking, authorities said.
“It’s tragic that there’s this possible human labor trafficking component,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz said. “This poses a great threat to our community.”
The sheriff’s SWAT team went to two locations and found at least 17,675 marijuana plants, 80 pounds of processed marijuana ready to be sold and $30,000 in cash, Schwartz said. The department also confiscated five firearms, including an AK-47 assault rifle and two stolen handguns.
A total of 34 people were detained in connection with the raids, including three who were placed under arrest.
Schwartz said the department is working to determine whether the others involved are victims of human trafficking. Some people, including two minors, said they didn’t know where they were when they were found.
“It’s unfortunate that the children get wrapped up in all this, but those are choices that get made by the adults that supervise them,” Schwartz said.
Vito Chiesa, chair of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, was present during part of the raids. He said it appeared that people were forced to stay on the property, sleeping on the floor of a garage and outbuilding.
While Chiesa said many of the people there probably knew they were working for an illegal marijuana grow to some extent, their apparent captivity was “very sad.”
Chiesa occasionally goes to raids as part of the board’s efforts to stop illegal grows in the county.
Friday’s raid was bigger than Chiesa has seen in the past, and he said he was surprised by size of the operation and number of people found. “It was a little chaotic,” he said.
While there may be anywhere between 1,200 and 1,500 illegal grows in the county, Chiesa said the big grows with upward of 15,000 plants are the main priority because they create the most issues.
Illegal grows run many of the risks seen during the Friday raid, Chiesa said, including gun violence and human trafficking. There is also the potential for environmental harm, as unregulated water use can lead to contaminants in the county’s groundwater.
These grows also take away profit and job security from those who have chosen to legally pursue permits and follow the rules.
“How are they supposed to compete?” Chiesa asked. “It’s a problem.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2021 at 1:33 PM.
