Foreign Organized โฃCrime Fuels Oklahoma‘s Illegal Marijuana Market,โ OBN Testifies
Tulsa (Ktul) – The oklahomaโค Bureau โof Narcotics (OBN) is set to address โขa Homeland Security subcommitteeโฃ on โคSeptember 18th, focusing โon the growing presence of foreign nationals in Oklahoma’s marijuana grows and the potential security risks theyโข pose. Theโ agency reports that organized crime groups from twelve different countries โคhave infiltrated โฃthe state’s marijuana industry.
According to OBN deputy Director Brian Surber, approximately 70โ to 80 percent โof illegalโฃ marijuana operations in Oklahoma โฃhave ties to Asian nationals, with a significant majorityโ originating from China. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has assisted OBN in operations,resulting in the arrest of 45 โฃforeign nationals on immigration violations directly related โคto illegal marijuana cultivation.
Surberโ explainedโฃ that foreign nationals are circumventing Oklahoma laws โrequiringโ grow owners to be โขresidentsโข through fraudulent practicesโค and the use of “straw owners.” โคThese arrangements involveโข listing Oklahoma residentsโ on โคownership paperwork while foreign nationals maintain actual control of the operations.
Theโ scale of โคthe problem wasโค notably โฃacute in 2022, โwhen Oklahoma boasted approximately 8,400 marijuanaโฃ farms – โฃmore than three times the number of licensed dispensaries. Through OBN’sโค enforcementโค efforts, that number hasโฃ been reduced to just over 2,000.
“You have to haveโข dumptrailers and skidsteers to load โขyour evidence,” Surber stated, โฃhighlighting the โขsheer โvolume of seized materials. “and that’sโ what we โhave right now โขbecause of the vast amount of production that โฃwe have. these are several-acre farms with dozens of grow houses.”
The Oklahoma Medical โคMarijuana Authority (OMMA) dataโ reveals theโ state produces 64 times the amount of marijuana consumed byโ registered patients,โ a โsurplus Surber attributesโข to aโฃ thriving black market. “If we produceโ 64 times what’s been โขconsumed atโ the legal level, that should kinda be somewhat of an indication as to the โbreadthโฃ of illegal black-market marijuana we have in Oklahoma. A large portionโ whichโข hasโ been taken by foreignโ influences.”
Since โฃJuly 1,2021,OBN โคhas seized 1.8 million marijuana plants and over 200,000 pounds of processed marijuana. Surber emphasizedโ this represents only aโ portion ofโ the illegal activity, stating, “Twoโข hundred thousand pounds โof marijuana and 1.8 millionโ plants, that’sโฃ what we’ve โฃseized. We haven’t been to all the grows, that’s justโฃ what we’ve seized at โฃour agency. Every twoโ oklahomans; we have aโ plant we’ve seizedโค for every two Oklahomans that involves an illegal grow.”
Aโฃ significant obstacle to โinvestigations is a critical shortage of language skills withinโ the OBN. Currently, โขthe agencyโ has only one agent and one civilian proficient in Mandarin, hindering investigations โandโ the ability to conduct effective wiretaps on foreign-operatedโข grows.
