On the morning of 25 August 2020 more than 70 law-enforcement officers from the DEA Grand Junction office and twelve federal, state and local agencies raided five marijuana cultivation sites spread over several square miles north of Rifle, Colorado.[1][2] The U.S. Forest Service had opened the investigation with support from the DEA and Bureau of Land Management.[1]
Plants and arrests
Agents removed 16,436 marijuana plants and arrested six suspects who were living at the illegal camps on a mix of public and private land northwest of Rifle Gap Reservoir.[1][2] One suspect was hurt during a foot chase in rough terrain, airlifted to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.[1] DEA resident agent in charge Steven Knight told the Post Independent the bust was among the largest illicit outdoor grows in Colorado that year.[2] The six detained men were described as Hispanic males; reporters said they faced manufacturing-with-intent charges and that no guns were found.[2]
Environmental damage
Local reporting said growers had diverted stream water to irrigate the sites and that fertilisers and pesticides on illegal grows elsewhere in the West can poison wildlife; carbofuran was not found here but had appeared at a similar Colorado operation in 2019.[2] The DEA said the case was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.[1]
