The crackdown on illegal cannabis operations in Oklahoma continues as Attorney General Gentner Drummond's Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) recently conducted a raid near Wilson, leading to a sizeable confiscation and several arrests. In coordination with agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and ICE, the task force seized about 15,000 marijuana plants and numerous pounds of processed marijuana from an unregistered grow site operated by Purple Light 168 LLC, as reported by the Attorney General's office.
Findings at the site went beyond just the marijuana plants, with OCTF agents uncovering body armor and unlawful pesticides of Chinese make, during the operation, additional resources such as the Oklahoma National Guard, Carter County Sheriff’s Office, and even the Wilson Fire Department provided support for the initiative. The OCTF, since being established in 2023, has been pivotal in reducing the number of licensed marijuana grows in the state from over 9,000 when Drummond took office to fewer than 2,100, with more than 228,000 plants and over 25,000 pounds of illegal product seized.
These enforcement efforts have also brought up the issue of illegal immigration linked to these operations; the recent raid carried out near Wilson resulted in several illegal immigrants being detained and are now in the custody of ICE. This ties into Attorney General Drummond's assertions of the task force's success in "building safer communities" and its role in immigration enforcement, saying, "With the help of the Trump administration, we are able to successfully partner with ICE to secure our border and deport illegal immigrants who are involved in these grow operations and other crimes," as stated on the official website of the Oklahoma Attorney General.
