The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Cannabis Compliance Team seized 20 tons of illegal cannabis during a sting operation Monday at an illegal cannabis cultivation site outside of Buellton.
According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, the team served search warrants after a two-month investigation on the site, involving fraudulent cannabis licenses and suspected sales of undocumented cannabis grows. The search warrants took place in Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo County and the 1800 block of West Highway 246 near Buellton.
The cultivation site was on approximately 187 acres of agricultural space, with more than 60 acres of it being used for commercial cannabis cultivation.
The Sheriff’s Office said it took the team a total of four days to seize around 20 tons of processed cannabis and eradicate about 350,000 cannabis plants, many of which were almost ready to harvest.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says the case will be forwarded on to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office for review of any criminal charges.
The case is currently under investigation.
