Local Colorado authorities and the DEA conducted sweeping raids throughout Colorado early Thursday morning. According to multiple reports, the raids come as the result of a months-long investigation into an “organization” producing and transporting cannabis for which Arapahoe County courts have a sealed indictment.
The joint effort saw over 20 sites raided and 2,000-5,000 cannabis plants seized across five different counties. During the raids in Denver County, Douglas County, Arapahoe County, Elbert County and El Paso County, authorities also seized guns and cash.
The locations that were raided range in size from warehouses to residencies to local businesses. One of the major busts took place at a warehouse off of I-70 and Peoria in Denver, Colorado, known as a “warehouse district” area of Denver that harbors many licensed grow facilities.
Video shows authorities dumping piles of chopped marijuana plants into a Colorado National Guard vehicle:
Military vehicle about to be loaded up w pot plants #9news major drug bust this morning across metro. Pot illegally shipped out of state. pic.twitter.com/XHWpg1PN3o
— Anastasiya Bolton (@abolton9news) March 16, 2017
“I appreciate the public interest in the ongoing law enforcement operations. Because they are ongoing, we will not be making any statements until all operations are completed and everyone’s safety is ensured. At this point, ethics rules will limit the type of information that can be shared.”
However, 9News also discovered that a home raided during the operation in Castle Rock belongs to 52-year-old Michael Stonehouse, who was arrested and charged with “several marijuana-related charges, money laundering and charges related to racketeering.”
The Denver Channel reports that this investigation and the raids were not the result of new priorities at the federal level:
“A DEA spokesman said the investigation into the organization has been in the works for months and isn’t the result of any new directive from the Trump administration.”
This prodigious bust comes just days after Colorado’s House voted in favor of a bill designed to eradicate the state’s black market and set a 16-plant limit on home cultivation.
Credit : Marijuana.com