How many Oklahoma medical marijuana farms tied to organized crime have been shut down?
More than 800 medical marijuana farms tied to organized crime have been shut down over the past two years, the director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control said Friday.
"Many of the farms obtained their license by fraud, grow for the black markets around the United States and launder the illicit proceeds worldwide," Director Donnie Anderson said.
"They also have been linked to homicides, labor trafficking, sex trafficking and other crimes."
Oklahoma narcotics agents also have seized more than 600,000 pounds of illegal marijuana and made nearly 200 arrests over the past two years during pot investigations, he said.
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The director gave the statistics in a news release about the latest arrests and an ongoing investigation.
Arrested Thursday were Jian Lin, 30, and Jianfa Zhou, 34, according to court records.
Agents made the two arrests and seized cash, a gun and the drug Ketamine during searches in Oklahoma City.
More than $49,000 in cash was found in Lin's bedroom and vehicle, an agent reported. More than $5,000 was found in Zhou's bedroom at the same apartment.
Two prostituted females were identified and removed from one of the locations that was used as a brothel, the narcotics bureau said in the news release.
An investigation now underway is focused on "an Asian organized crime network" that provides services for several medical marijuana farms, a bureau spokesman said.
The investigation has uncovered evidence Asian females have been recruited for prostitution "that caters to managers and administrators of numerous marijuana farms around the state," the spokesman, Mark Woodward, said.
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Voters go to the polls March 7 to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana in the state. As the election approaches, officials in law enforcement have warned expanding access to pot will endanger public safety even more.
"One of the biggest current threats to public safety is the presence of Chinese nationals and other elements of organized crime in our medical marijuana industry," Oklahoma Attorney General Drummond said Feb. 16.
"I believe it would be a grave mistake to give these criminals a larger market to serve.”
Oklahomans approved medical marijuana in 2018.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Narcotics bureau: Oklahoma medical marijuana brought sex trafficking
