Nevada Country Sheriif's Office
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently conducted joint agency operations to address and eradicate illegal cannabis operations in Nevada County.
The agencies said their partnership is in place to increase overall efficiency, reduce overhead costs, and increase the number of suspected illegal cannabis farms that can be targeted and eradicated. The partnership prioritizes illegal cultivation sites that are suspected of polluting California waterways/watersheds, along with illegal dumping and water runoff.
This past April and May, the team executed four search warrants in the county, including three in Grass Valley and one in Nevada City. All four locations were found to have illegal cannabis operations. In total, NCSO SIU and CDFW eradicated 14,619 plants, 94 pounds of processed cannabis including concentrated cannabis, and 1.3 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms. The team also seized two firearms.
Two individuals were arrested and booked into Wayne Brown Correctional Facility. Charges varied by each offender but included illegal cannabis cultivation; possession of cannabis for sale; transporting spores/mushroom used to produce or sell a controlled substance; possession of a controlled substance; possession/purchase for sale narcotics; possession of a controlled substance with a loaded firearm; conspiracy to commit crime; evading the payment of cannabis excise tax; and renting/using space for manufacturing, storing, or distributing any controlled substance.
