Latest news with #illegalmarijuana
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Chinese and Mexican cartels exploit woke American laws to cash in after fentanyl crackdown
Chinese and Mexican drug cartels are trafficking illegal marijuana across America by exploiting the nation's legal cannabis market. International crime groups have been running a multibillion-dollar black market cannabis industry in the US for at least the past decade, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA, in its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, revealed that drug traffickers are purchasing land in states with legal marijuana frameworks to operate illicit growing operations. Those operations then serve as the 'main suppliers' of high-potency cannabis to states where the drug is not recreationally legal, as well as abroad, the report found. DEA officials allege these Chinese-owned growing operations 'do not follow the established licensure process' and often 'obtained licenses through falsified means'. They use a labor force comprised of undocumented migrants at the grow sites and produce cannabis in 'excess of quotas and legal market needs'. The cartels also launder their drug proceeds through licensed marijuana operations, straw ownership, casinos and mortgage fraud, the DEA report found. Recreational marijuana is currently legal or decriminalized in 24 US states and the District of Columbia. It has been legalized for medical use in 39 states and DC. But the DEA warns that the 'black market for marijuana has expanded significantly' over the past 20 years as Chinese and other Asian criminal organizations have seized greater control over cannabis trade. Mexican cartels have long dominated the market for illegal weed in the US, but Chinese-operated gangs are now vying to become America's cannabis kingpins. Chinese gangs have set up thousands of illicit weed farms across America and are hiding in plain site, officials revealed. The criminal enterprises are exploiting the legal market by operating their grows in states with weak marijuana regulatory structures, such as Oklahoma and California. The DEA report highlighted Oklahoma as a hotspot for illicit cannabis operation, citing how 66 percent of seizures in 2024 occurred in the state. Officials say Asian transnational criminal organizations are illegally cultivating marijuana with THC levels between 25 and 30 percent, making it among the most potent in drug-trafficking history. Crime bosses have established 'extensive illegal grow operations' using falsified documentation and an undocumented labor force. 'They are bringing in Mexican nationals, bringing in Chinese immigrants as well, and basically bringing them in as the labor force within these bureau sites, promising them payment,' former California Wildlife Department Lt. John Nores told NewsNation. 'Not paying these guys, kind of extorting and keeping them around, really not really against their will.' Mexican cartels are also transporting marijuana into the US and partnering with domestic criminal groups to distribute it nationwide via the country's highway network. The DEA found that drug smugglers are transporting the products using the 'shotgun approach' in 'personally owned' vehicles, semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, the report states. The shotgun approach, which aims to minimize risk, involves sending the drugs in multiple vehicles, each carrying no more than a couple hundreds pounds of cannabis. Overseas shipments are sent via commercial flights from the US and Canada, as well as on shipping containers departing from American ports. Officials also found that cannabis produced at grow site in the US operated by Chinese cartels is currently in high demand in the UK, France and Spain 'due to its potency'. Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine have been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms - with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads,' it emerged last year. Officials warned that illicit marijuana operations were on the rise because Chinese funding for such operations was skyrocketing. It is unclear whether funding was coming from groups connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but experts have pointed out that triads are usually only allowed to operate if they agreed to act as informal 'enforcers' for the government. A Homeland Security memo, leaked to the Daily Caller in 2023, also raised the possibility that profits were being funneled back to Beijing. The surge in illicit cannabis operations comes as President Donald Trump has vowed to throw everything possible at Mexico's cartels for flooding the US with deadly fentanyl. Mexico's new administration has shown a willingness to help, pursuing cartel operations and making arrests of gang leaders. In February, Trump designated eight Latin American criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. He had called for the move in an executive order signed in January. The 'foreign terrorist organization' label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends - not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels. The Trump administration argues that the international connections and operations of the groups - including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory - warrant the designation.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- CBS News
Woman arrested at San Francisco airport allegedly caught with 150 lbs. of cannabis
California cracking down on illegal marijuana grows, but dispensaries continue to struggle California cracking down on illegal marijuana grows, but dispensaries continue to struggle California cracking down on illegal marijuana grows, but dispensaries continue to struggle A Southern California woman is facing felony drug charges after she was allegedly caught with more than 150 pounds of cannabis at San Francisco International Airport earlier this month, prosecutors said. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe's office announced Tuesday that 34-year-old Diane Bahlawan of Glendale in Los Angeles County has been charged with felony transportation of marijuana and commercial burglary. According to the San Francisco Police Department's Airport Division, Bahlawan was at the airport for a United Airlines flight to Frankfurt, Germany around 5:15 a.m. on May 6. A U.S. Customs agent examined her luggage and found 130 vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis, weighing a total of 151.07 pounds. Bahlawan was stopped before boarding the flight and was arrested. She posted bail later that day. Officials with the airport would not comment about the incident. Prosecutors said Bahlawan is scheduled to appear for her arraignment on June 2.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Vendors arrested in major drug bust selling marijuana illegally: officials
The Brief A major drug bust took place in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, officials said. Police were informed of an "illegal weed flea market" and arrived on location, arresting about 15 people. GERMANTOWN - Philadelphia police were informed of an illegal marijuana flea market happening in Germantown Friday night and they arrived, arresting about 15 people. What we know Officials say a major drug bust happened Friday night, after they received word of an "illegal weed flea market" in Germantown. A huge Philadelphia police presence descended on the 5600 block of Germantown Avenue in a former retail space. According to authorities, a lot of marijuana was being sold illegally, as well as other illegal items and paraphernalia. In all, about 13 or 14 vendors were arrested, along with the organizer of the event. Officials said between 50 and 60 people were inside when the officers got there. What we don't know No details were released on any charges for the individuals involved. No other information was given about the people inside the venue and if arrests were made.
