Drug agents raid 4 illegal marijuana grows in Clackamas, Yamhill counties, seize 17,000 plants, guns, stolen vehicles

No arrests in raids near Woodburn, but 12 arrests in Dayton

WOODBURN, Ore. (KTVZ) – Drug agents raided two illegal marijuana grows north of Woodburn, seizing more than 11,000 marijuana plants and a large amount of harvested marijuana, as well as other drugs, over a dozen guns and numerous stolen vehicles, Oregon State Police said Tuesday. Meanwhile, two more illegal grows were raided in Yamhill County.

OSP’s Drug Enforcement Section, the Northwest Region Marijuana Team and the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force served search warrants Friday at two locations on South Schneider Road north of Woodburn, troopers said.

Along with the plants and harvested marijuana in various stages of drying and trimming, investigators seized over two pounds of methamphetamine, more than 500 imported pills, 15 guns and a homemade firearm suppressor.

They also said several stolen vehicles were recovered, including a tractor, two motorcycles, a side by side and a quad ATVs, a trailer full of an electrician’s equipment, a flatbed-gooseneck equipment trailer and a small enclosed trailer taken from a McMinnville-area church.

Several suspects were contacted, interviewed and released, troopers said. The case and potential charges will be referred to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office.

Also assisting in the operation were the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Westside and Linn interagency narcotics teams and police from Woodburn, Keizer, Portland and Salem.

Meanwhile, two large, unlicensed, unpermitted marijuana grows have been busted in a rural area of Yamhill County, southwest of Portland, according to law enforcement officials.

The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that multiple complaints about two properties in Dayton led them to start investigating and serve search warrants.

One of the operations had 46 greenhouses, nearly 6,700 pot plants and over 10,000 pounds of drying or dried marijuana, officials said. Twelve people were arrested at the site, ranging in age from 19 to 60. Most were arrested on suspicion of unlawful manufacture of marijuana and unlawful marijuana possession, officials said.

The second grow had 53 unpermitted greenhouses with more than 15,000 plants, according to sheriff's officials.

Yamhill County Code Enforcement and inspectors went to the properties to address solid waste concern and electrical code violations, officials said.

Large camps were found at both locations where people who were growing and processing the marijuana were living. A considerable amount of solid waste and refuse was found in the camps, officials said.

Referrals also were made to the regional Oregon Watermaster about water diverted from Palmer Creek and from a pond on one property, officials said.

It took the Sheriff's Office and people from over a dozen other agencies — including police departments, the Oregon Army National Guard and others — four days to complete the search warrants, officials said. The work involved dismantling and eradicating the grows and continuously maintaining security while that work happened.

Illegal marijuana grows have been a persistent problem throughout the West, especially in southern Oregon.