OBN agents bust illegal marijuana operation

Discover possible case of human labor trafficking

 

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (KFOR) – Officials with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics say they were able to bust another illegal marijuana grow operation but discovered something unusual at the site.

On June 14, OBN agents shut down a large illegal marijuana growing operation in Muskogee County.

Officials with the agency say the 40-acre farm had 24,000 plants, but the owners did not have a license to grow marijuana in Oklahoma.

While at the farm, investigators also found 20 to 30 Hispanic men who were potential victims of human labor trafficking.

“While none of them willingly claimed to be a victim, these men were forced to live in deplorable conditions. They stayed in make-shift shanties without electricity or running water to the property. They appeared to be bathing and washing their clothes in a less than sanitary and stagnate creek/pond nearby. Interviews revealed that they had not been paid and were told that would receive a percentage of the profits after the harvest,” said OBN Spokesman Mark Woodward.

If you have any information on the case, you are asked to call the agency at 1-800-522-8031.