Oklahoma’s black market for cannabis opens door to labor trafficking

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As Oklahoma’s black market for cannabis continues to expand, investigators statewide are not only finding fields, grow houses, and trucks of illegally grown marijuana, but they are also finding workers who could being caught up in human trafficking networks.

On July 1, about 130 miles south and east of Oklahoma City in Johnston County, a routine traffic check revealed a potential network of illegal crops. The 16 workers found at the site near Coleman could meet the definition of labor trafficking, subject to an ongoing investigation, authorities said.

A bust 60 miles south of Oklahoma City in Grady County on June 23 produced more illegal marijuana and about 30 Chinese works that are believed to have been trafficked into the country, according to the Bureau of Narcotics and dangerous drugs from Oklahoma.

Marijuana seized during an illegal operation in Lincoln County.

On June 14, two hours east of the subway in Muskogee County, state officials shut down a 40-acre unlicensed farm with 24,000 plants being grown by up to 30 Hispanic men awaiting a share. of the crop. The men appeared to live in makeshift slums without electricity or running water, investigators said.

Indeed, labor trafficking is associated with numerous illegal marijuana growing operations in Oklahoma that continue to be investigated by law enforcement agencies across the state, according to officials.

The reluctant worker and contraband movement is often linked to established drug and human trafficking networks, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Narcotics Agency said.

“All 77 counties”:Authorities say Oklahoma is now a source state for the cannabis black market

“Specifically related to the marijuana industry here in Oklahoma, we have had unpaid workers living in appalling conditions on some of these farms,†said Mark Woodward, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBN). “Again, they would meet the definition of labor trafficking, human trafficking, but they will not verbalize a complaint due to fear and desperation for this job.”

“Human trafficking is a big problem”

When a person is forced to work out of fear or coercion and is unable to control their own movements, the elements of human trafficking are present. Authorities say it’s a growing problem.

“Human trafficking is a big problem,†said Gary Dodd, Johnston County Sheriff. “Some of the other sheriffs and the OBN went through this. I think a lot of times these victims don’t want to come forward. And they are held in conditions that are by no means luxury. “

After:Two accused after the discovery of illegal marijuana crops in the garages of Edmond, OKC

In some cases, investigators know the identities of workers at the site because they are former business owners who came of their own accord, or US residents or have some kind of history that leaves a written record. However, sometimes there is no indicator as to how a group of people got to work in Oklahoma.

Those who work and live in the state, whether they like it or not, often do not know where they are and ignore the required licenses and the legality of the work they do, authorities said.

“We don’t know much about other workers either,†said Woodward. “It’s entirely possible that some of them may have been smuggled here inside freight containers weeks ago, and that some of them may have been here for generations. don’t know what we don’t know about many of these workers.

Potential victims reluctant to speak out

A common theme when busts involving workers are that one or two people will speak on behalf of the group. Part of the reason is that many workers do not speak English, but according to law enforcement there is visible fear and reluctance on the part of workers to say anything when their door- word is present.

“We have to have a victim, and although our investigators would consider many of these labor trafficking cases to be victims, they often are, but out of fear and desperation for the job, they are smiling. They say “I’m fine, I” I’m happy thanks to the performers, “Woodward said.

For workers, their plight and the vulnerability they feel often keep them silent and away from help and resources that can lift them out of the situation, officials said.

Those who speak out are eligible for services to help them recover and get out of the situation. But when they don’t speak, officials say it’s nearly impossible to prosecute the groups responsible for modern day slavery.

After:Oklahoma calls for federal help to tackle illegal marijuana cultivation

Although links between illegal crops and Mexican drug cartels have been discovered, authorities say many busts are linked to criminal syndicates in Asia that operate globally.

“There are often connections with the Mandarin speaking workers and also, what we would call lieutenants, within some of these organizations that are actually the leaders,†said Woodward. “They move the workers, they move the product and they move the money. And most of them are outside of the state of Oklahoma… they operate, coordinate and orchestrate deliveries and shipments for these organizations.

Officials say teams can turn an empty plot of land into a marijuana grow operation very quickly. Nearby landowners experienced frightening and unwanted encounters as local law enforcement responded to worried calls from farmers and ranchers checking livestock or fixing fences.

“The owners come forward reluctantly and very vaguely, and don’t even really want to mention the file, say, ‘hey, we’ve been up against, you know, these people.’ We met people who were armed and they threatened us to stay away. ‘ So, I mean, there is definitely a growing threat of violence, â€Dodd said.

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