It wasn’t that many years ago that a major illegal marijuana grow business operated in the Cherrywood neighborhood of Union City for almost four years, and area residents had little idea that their “neighbors” were actually organized criminals. Now, a recent investigation has revealed that several luxury homes in the east bay community of Antioch have been used as large-scale illegal marijuana growing operations. According to a report, three houses on the same street were found to be entirely dedicated to cultivating marijuana, fueling the illegal and often organized-crime related black-market cannabis industry.
The investigation uncovered how suburban family homes in Antioch, a part of Contra Costa County, were transformed into extensive indoor marijuana farms. These homes, each valued at approximately $1 million, were equipped with makeshift ventilation systems, electrical generators, and windows boarded up to conceal the operations from outside view.
Kevin McInerney, a commander with the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), explained to reporters that the outward appearance of these well-maintained homes helped avoid suspicion from neighbors. “As long as the house looks nice and the yard’s taken care of, nobody’s going to question what’s going on inside,” McInerney stated.
The DCC has reportedly raided around 50 homes in Antioch suspected of being involved in similar illegal activities. Despite the scale of these operations, the cultivation of marijuana remains a misdemeanor in most cases, whether it’s a small number of plants or an entire house full of them, showing how the state of California has little regard for the impact on neighborhoods these illegal operations pose.
The investigation also uncovered some notable connections. One of the busted homes was owned by an unnamed Oakland police officer, who had 80 pounds of marijuana trimmings at the time of the raid. The officer is currently on administrative leave. Additionally, the three homes on the same block were all linked to an area real estate agent, who brokered the sales of the properties. This same broker owned one of the houses at the time of the raid, which contained nearly $900,000 worth of marijuana.
This revelation has raised concerns about the extent of illegal marijuana cultivation in suburban neighborhoods and the challenges faced by law enforcement in tackling these sophisticated operations.
