Santa Barbara County, California seizes 20 tons of illegal cannabis

Santa Barbara County, California, has the most marijuana cultivation licenses of any county in the state. It also just made a huge bust, with sheriff’s deputies seizing 20 tons of illegal cannabis and destroying 350,000 plants.

That should come as good news to licensed MJ businesses in the county who have seen their bottom lines suffer as illicit operators continued to do business illegally.

According to a news release, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team spent four days executing search warrants and seizing illegal product at a 60-acre grow near the town of Buellton.

The raid was the result of a two-month-long investigation, according to the release, and the operation also included the county district attorney’s office, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force.

The owner of the property had not been located or contacted as of Saturday, the sheriff’s office said.

No criminal charges have been filed, but the case is ongoing.