500 federal agents and soldiers raid marijuana farms in rural Southern California
The National Guard and federal agencies joined the Drug Enforcement Administration to raid multiple marijuana grow operations in Southern California.
The massive operation consisted of 500 personnel and took place in Thermal, a rural city in Riverside County near Coachella, according to the DEA. The federal agency said the task force included the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI and the National Guard.
The DEA posted on social media that it requested help from the agencies and the Army because of the "magnitude and topography of this operation." A DEA spokesperson said the mission was aimed at illegal marijuana farms spanning about 787 acres in the Coachella Valley town.
"The operation is authorized by federal search warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge," the DEA wrote on X.
Federal agents arrested between 70 and 75 undocumented immigrants and one U.S. citizen for impeding law enforcement.
Multiple people are being questioned for their possible involvement in the marijuana grow operation.