An alleged black-market marijuana empire on the outskirts of Prague just got yanked up by the roots.
State and federal authorities raided two large illegal grow operations near the Lincoln County town on Wednesday, detaining dozens of people and hauling away tens of thousands of plants along with more than a ton of processed product. The sweep, carried out by Attorney General Gentner Drummond's Organized Crime Task Force, is the latest in a run of high‑profile busts that Oklahoma officials say are targeting criminal networks gaming the state’s marijuana licensing system.
According to Journal Record, the task force detained 36 suspects and seized 48,665 marijuana plants plus roughly 1,803 pounds of processed marijuana in the Prague-area raids. The same outlet reported that the operations were identified as Benson Kush and Grand Growth, and that three undocumented workers were taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and deported.
“We are sending a clear message that the days of criminal organizations treating Oklahoma like a safe haven for illegal marijuana operations are over,” Drummond said, vowing that those responsible would be “tirelessly pursued and aggressively prosecuted,” as reported by Journal Record. His office framed the sweep as one more step in a longer campaign to shut down unlicensed grows and choke off out‑of‑state diversion.
Multi‑Agency Playbook On Display
The Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force regularly teams up with federal and local partners for large, coordinated investigations, a pattern the office has highlighted in previous bulletins. A February 3 release detailing "Operation Blunt Force" describes the OCTF working with agencies including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on multi‑state trafficking probes, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office.
How The Prague Bust Fits The Bigger Crackdown
The Prague sweep arrives on the heels of an April OCTF operation that seized nearly 59,000 plants and more than 1,350 pounds of processed marijuana in Tulsa and Claremore, underscoring how the Attorney General's office has ramped up enforcement. Since Drummond took office in 2023, the number of licensed grow operations has dropped from more than 9,000 to fewer than 1,200, a shift the office presents as a mix of market shakeout and toughened regulation, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office.
What Comes Next For Those Detained
The people picked up in the Prague raids could face state charges that include aggravated manufacturing, trafficking and conspiracy, while federal authorities may launch parallel cases if any diversion crossed state lines. Recent large‑scale marijuana busts have already led to sprawling, multi‑state indictments and lengthy investigations, as documented by the U.S. Department of Justice.
