Photo: Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics
Oklahoma law enforcement has found a second massive illegal marijuana grow operation more than 200 miles from where the first was found.
The grow operation busted on June 8 was found in Walters. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics found the second operation in Muskogee County on Monday, June 13.
Under state law, medical marijuana can legally be grown in Oklahoma if you have the proper license.
In this case, an OBN spokesperson said the owner of the 40-acre farm that had 24,000 plants didn't have a license.
Authorities also believe that the farm may be involved in human trafficking because of the 20 to 30 Hispanic men found working there.
"While none of them willingly claimed to be a victim, these men were forced to live in deplorable conditions. They stayed in make-shift shanties without electricity or running water to the property. They appeared to be bathing and washing their clothes in a less than sanitary and stagnate creek/pond nearby. Interviews revealed that they had not been paid and were told that would receive a percentage of the profits after the harvest," said OBN spokesman Mark Woodward.