As busts continue, EPCSO learns more about crime associated with illegal marijuana growing

As the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office continues to crack down on illegal marijuana grow sights, they are learning more about these operations.

The sheriff’s office now has more funding and resources dedicated to eradicating illegal marijuana grows from the county, and they are learning more about the crimes associated with these operations.

Deputy Jeff Schulz is one of the lead investigators working on these cases.

Day in and day out, he is dedicated to learning more about illegal grows in the county, and executing search warrants to shut them down.

Deputy Schulz was recently honored as employee of the month for the sheriff’s office for his efforts on these cases, becoming one of the go-to experts of the region.

“The sheriff has made it very clear what he wants, and Sheriff Elder says ‘we are coming after you, and we are going to find you, and we will,'” said Schulz.

Since January 1st, with help from other agencies, the sheriff’s teams have raided several illegal grow sites, resulting in dozens of arrests, and the seizure of thousands of plants.

Lieutenant Bill Huffor supervises some of these teams, and says they are learning more about the illegal business associated with the grows all the time.

“I think early on when we started this we were going after the lower level growers, but I’ll tell you, we are making progress and identifying some of the mid-level and high-level growers,” said Lt. Huffor.

Deputies say illegal growers targeted Colorado after marijuana was legalized in the state, because it is easier for growers to go unnoticed.

In many cases, deputies find once the cannabis is harvested, it is being shipped to the east coast, where in most states, it is still illegal to grow and sell.

“I’m specifically talking about the black market. It goes to other states up and down the eastern seaboard, all the way down to Miami, where it sells, for 3,500 to 4,000 dollars a pound,” said Schulz.

Deputies also find a lot of the growers themselves are being brought to Colorado by cartels solely to grow marijuana, with false promises of being taken care of.

“It becomes human trafficking and indentured servitude because people just can’t get out of it,” said Deputy Schulz.

The sheriff’s office also says there are upticks in other crimes associated with these grows.

Lt. Huffor says they have seen crimes like assault, theft, and burglary that can all be connected to these illegal operations.

But the sheriff’s office says they are making significant progress when it comes to these operations as well.

So far this year, the sheriff’s office estimates they’ve executed about 40 search warrants, and theorize that many others have picked up and left the county knowing law enforcement is cracking down.

Deputies say if they keep up the current pace of these raids, they could execute up to 200 search warrants by the end of the year, making a significant dent in the estimated 650 grows in the county right now.