Police seize $500 million in illegal marijuana in a raid in Oregon

Oregon state police seized 500,000 pounds of illegal marijuana outside Medford, Oregon last week. The drugs seized were estimated to be worth $500 million.

“An epic amount of illegal, processed marijuana and a firearm were seized," said the police

The Oregon State Police Southwest Region (OSP) Drug Enforcement Section team served a search warrant at five industrial-sized warehouses in White City, Oregon on Thursday, police said. The operation spanned over two days.

"This is a very involved investigation and will be ongoing for several weeks," OSP said in a news release.

Over 100 individuals were detained, identified, interviewed, and released. Several of the individuals working in the warehouses were migrant workers living on-site, mostly in subpar living conditions without running water, said OSP.

Since 2015, Oregon legalized recreational marijuana. However, it is still illegal to manufacture it without a license.

White City is a small community near the California state line. Crime related to illegal marijuana farms in the area has caused crime to increase in White City.

“We’ve had stabbings, robberies, thefts, burglaries, homicides, sex crimes, motor vehicle accidents, DUIs, all related to the influx of the marijuana-cannabis industry in our valley,” said Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Stickler. “It is certainly an issue we deal with on a daily basis here.”