El Paso County seizes $13M in illegal marijuana so far in 2018

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says it has seized about $13 million worth of illegal marijuana products in the first three months of 2018.

According to statistics released by the sheriff’s office Friday, 30 search warrants were executed — thousands of plants and hundreds of pounds of processed marijuana were seized in the process.

El Paso County says it confiscated 2,425 plants, valued at about $12 million, and 258 pounds of processed marijuana, valued at about $1 million. Deputies also seized 13 guns and a marijuana trimming machine.

( RELATED STORY: Colorado Springs outpaces Denver in illegal pot concentrates )

Sixteen arrests have been made so far this year, but we know that the sheriff’s office has obtained at least 20 warrants for arrests related to illegal marijuana operations.

It follows El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder’s increased emphasis on busting black-market marijuana operations. Elder made it one of his top priorities for the year.

We’ve asked the sheriff’s office for statistics from the first quarter of 2017 to compare. This article will be updated when that information is provided.

MUGSHOTS: Suspects arrested for illegal marijuana grows in El Paso County