Oklahoma drug agents say an illegal marijuana grow near Devol is out of business after a Monday raid that yanked 5,304 plants out of the ground and from indoor rooms. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics' Marijuana Enforcement Team served a search warrant at the rural grow, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took one person into custody. Investigators say the farm had been operating under a fraudulent state registration to look legitimate, part of what officials describe as a winter run of large-scale busts on unlicensed grows across the state.
Details from the scene
As reported by KOKH / OKCFOX, OBN agents said they served their warrant at the Devol property and removed 5,304 live plants from both indoor and outdoor cultivation areas. According to the agency, the growers had obtained their OBN registration through fraud, and federal partners were on hand to help with the arrest. OBN did not immediately say whether state or federal charges had been filed as the investigation continues.
Part of a growing enforcement push
OBN's MET teams have been busy in recent weeks and months. Agents seized more than 10,000 plants in Stratford earlier this month, as KXII reported. In December, they recovered over 65,000 plants in Yale, according to KSWO. Officials say many of these operations are tied to black-market trafficking and rely on deceptive ownership structures to slip past state regulators.
How 'straw ownership' works
OBN and local outlets say many illegal grows lean on what is known as "straw ownership" - fronting the business through stand-in owners who obtain state registrations while the real operators stay in the background. News 9 reported that since 2021, OBN has shut down thousands of illegal farms and sharply reduced the number of registered grows as part of a broader effort to cut off supply to the black market. Prosecutors have pursued indictments tied to these schemes in multiple counties as investigators follow paper trails on registrations and money flows, according to state reporting.
What comes next
For the Devol case, investigators will keep combing through ownership records and following leads while evidence is processed, and OBN is again urging anyone with information to use its anonymous tip line. KXII notes the bureau's tip line is 800-522-8031. Local prosecutors and federal partners will ultimately decide on any charges, while ICE handles immigration issues for the person taken into custody during the raid.
