Antioch has become a hub for illegal marijuana cultivation, state officials say

The California Department of Cannabis Control recently announced that they have discovered more illegal marijuana grows in Antioch than anywhere else in the state, except Los Angeles.

The suburban, tree-lined streets of Antioch’s newer neighborhoods don’t seem like the kind of place you’d find an illegal marijuana grow-op. For the most part, it’s nothing more than a sea of ​​cookie-cutter homes, all part of planned communities.

According to experts, that is precisely why criminals set up their illegal growing operations indoors.

“This is basically my man cave,” Roderick Thomas said, pointing to his garage.

It’s where he likes to tinker with projects and also keep an eye on the neighborhood, which is why he was so surprised to see that three houses on his street still had power during a power outage a few years ago.

“Every house on the block would be dark except for those three. So my intention was to go over there and talk to them and try to find out what they had to keep the lights on, because I was interested,” Thomas said. He said he tried to see if anyone came home, but rarely saw anyone.

“There was always a white van. And it would sit there for a few minutes and then before you knew it, it was gone. And you couldn’t see anything for a long time. That house was like a haunted house. All three of them,” Thomas explained.

The Cannabis Control Division recently shared video footage of an April raid on one of the homes, owned by an Oakland Police Department officer. Inside, they found jars full of chemicals and enough equipment to power a massive illegal marijuana grow operation — room after room filled with plants, grow lights, fans and water systems.

“They’re relatively large homes, they’re in nice neighborhoods. They’re hard to spot, they’re easy to hide,” said Kevin McInerney of the Department of Cannabis Control.

He oversees the department’s enforcement efforts, including raids, in Northern California. He says Antioch has become a hotbed of activity, in part for these illegal grow houses because of the real estate market.

The criminals running the operations can buy a large house for much less than the cost of an equally large warehouse. If they are caught, the owners can immediately remove the growing equipment and still sell the house for a profit.

“They can buy the house back and they’ve made the money from both the illegal grow and the sale of the house, because they make about $200,000 profit on every house they sell,” McInerney said.

The illegal grow house, owned by the Oakland police officer, was put up for sale in late July, and a sign out front already says the sale is pending.

The other two houses on the same street that were also raided are also currently for sale.

“To the people who own these homes, know that we are coming. We are going to shut you down and prosecute you,” said Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe.

He says these illegal grow houses have been a problem in the community for years, partly because they are so hard to identify. Thomas said he unknowingly lived next door to one for years.

“It was a total shock to me. It just goes to show you never know what happens behind closed doors,” he said.

According to the Department of Cannabis Control, these are highly sophisticated growing methods. They are largely the work of Chinese organized crime rings — so much so that they are the ones producing most of the black market marijuana in the state right now, not the Mexican drug cartels.

The Oakland police officer who owned one of the Antioch homes raided has not been charged in connection with the grow at this time. However, he is on paid administrative leave from the police department.