More than 110,000 marijuana plants, 81,000 pounds of bulk cannabis and 86 firearms were seized as authorities moved across six properties in Clackamas and Marion counties during a three-day operation targeting a suspected large-scale drug trafficking network.
The coordinated raids dismantled cultivation sites holding an estimated $20 million in marijuana and exposed another concern for investigators: dozens of people living and working on properties without adequate shelter, running water, plumbing or electricity.
Oregon State Police and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Interagency Task Force converged on the properties after initially pursuing separate investigations. Both cases began following community complaints, but as detectives uncovered additional grow sites and traced the people connected to them, investigators determined they were pursuing the same suspects.
Search warrants followed at six locations across the two counties.
By the end of the operation, officers had located and destroyed 110,437 marijuana plants and seized 81,460 pounds of bulk marijuana. Authorities also recovered 86 firearms and $11,500 in cash.
Jaimee Virrueta-Gomez, 35, of Gerber, California, was arrested on charges of unlawful manufacture of a marijuana item and unlawful possession of a marijuana item. The case remains under investigation, with additional charges expected to be referred to district attorneys in both Clackamas and Marion counties.
The conditions encountered at the grow sites opened a separate line of investigation involving the 55 workers found during the operation.
Authorities are examining whether any of those workers were brought to the properties or kept there through force, fraud or coercion. No determination of human trafficking was announced with the initial results of the investigation.
Crisis-response organizations were dispatched to multiple locations while search warrants were being served. Workers were offered food, water, emergency transportation, safety planning and assistance obtaining shelter and housing. Legal-service referrals and confidential victim advocacy were also made available.
Safety Compass provided confidential advocacy at each location, joined by the Anti-Trafficking Project, a program of J Bar J, and the Cannabis Workers Resilience Partnership. All 55 workers were offered services and continued follow-up assistance.
The operation also reached beyond the criminal investigation into the environmental effects of the cultivation sites. State and county agencies are examining possible violations involving water use, pesticide and fertilizer runoff and unlawful disposal of solid waste.
The size of the enforcement effort drew narcotics investigators from across Oregon, including Southern Oregon teams accustomed to investigating large illegal marijuana operations. The Rogue Area Drug Enforcement team, Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement Team and Douglas County Interagency Narcotics Team participated alongside the Westside Interagency Narcotics team.
The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Port of Portland Police also assisted, along with the Clackamas and Marion county district attorney’s offices. The Clackamas County task force includes personnel from the Sheriff’s Office, Canby Police Department, Oregon State Police, FBI and Oregon National Guard Counterdrug Task Force.
Funding and coordination for portions of the investigation are provided through the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, a federally sponsored initiative supporting multi-agency drug enforcement operations. The Clackamas County task force also receives support through the county’s Public Safety Levy.
The victim-service organizations participating in the raids receive partial funding through the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission’s Illegal Marijuana Market Enforcement Grant Program.
Investigators have not closed the case with the destruction of the six grow sites. Detectives continue working to identify the structure and reach of the suspected trafficking organization, determine the circumstances surrounding the workers and develop evidence for additional potential charges in both counties.