Major Underground Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation Busted in Kern County Desert

On the morning of August 6, 2024, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (KC-HIDTA) executed a search warrant at a clandestine underground marijuana grow operation site in the desert north of Boron, California. The operation was conducted with the support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Cannabis Enforcement Program (CEP), the Eradication and Prevention of Illicit Cannabis (EPIC) task force, and the Kern County Probation Department.

Major Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation Busted in Kern County Desert. PHOTO: KCSO

The enforcement action led to the arrest of three individuals implicated in the illegal cultivation activities. During the raid, two suspects attempted to escape from the underground facility but were swiftly captured by law enforcement officers on the scene.

Authorities eradicated 17,650 marijuana plants from the subterranean grow rooms and seized approximately 1,069 pounds of processed marijuana. The sophisticated underground setup featured numerous buried shipping containers equipped with advanced electrical, ventilation, and cooling systems powered by a large diesel generator.

Kern County Code Compliance officials also responded to the scene, uncovering multiple code violations and significant safety hazards associated with the buried grow operation. As a result, the property’s structures and underground containers were deemed unsafe for occupancy and were marked accordingly by code compliance officers.

The individuals arrested face charges including maintaining a place for drug sales, marijuana cultivation, possession of marijuana for sale, resisting arrest, illegal earth disturbance, trash accumulation, unlawful water discharge related to marijuana cultivation, and conspiracy. They were transported and booked into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Lerdo Justice Facility.

The suspects are identified as: