DEA-led raid hits 787 acres of illegal grows near Thermal; 76 held
A DEA-led 500-person task force raided three illegal marijuana grow sites covering about 787 acres around Thermal in the Coachella Valley on 18 June 2025. As many as 75 workers were held along with one US citizen accused of impeding officers; all were questioned about the farms.
🇺🇸 Thermal, Coachella Valley, Riverside County, California · California, United States
The Drug Enforcement Administration led a large-scale raid on Wednesday 18 June 2025
against three illegal marijuana grow sites covering nearly 800 acres around Thermal in
the Coachella Valley.[1]The DEA said it held federal search warrants signed by a
magistrate judge before the operation in the Thermal area, which targeted 787 acres
of illegally grown marijuana.[2]About 500 officers and troops took part, including
the National Guard, the ATF, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border
Patrol and the FBI.[2]The DEA said the size and scope of the sites prompted help
from the FBI, the IRS, the US Army, immigration enforcement and the Guard.[1]
At least 70 undocumented workers were arrested in the raids, and one US citizen was
taken into custody for interfering with law enforcement; during one search officers
found two people locked inside a trailer.[1]Another account puts the number held
at as many as 75 undocumented immigrants plus the one citizen, with all being
questioned about their possible involvement in the farms.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Humboldt County Sheriff's deputies from the Marijuana Eradication Team served warrants on suspected illicit cannabis grows in Southern Humboldt on 12 November 2026. No numbers of sites, plants, seizures or arrests were published, with further details promised.
A multi-agency probe into a Passaic County drug-dealing ring led to searches at 12 locations across Paterson, Passaic, Haledon and Hawthorne and the arrest of nine people, including a 17-year-old minor. Prosecutors said investigators recovered five pounds of marijuana and THC products, cocaine, heroin, seven guns, more than 500 rounds of ammunition and nearly $10,000 in cash.
CHP's warrant service team searched a home in the 400 block of Bear Canyon Road northwest of Garberville on 9 November 2026 as part of a multi-agency narcotics investigation involving the DEA, HSI and FBI. The CHP said it did not lead the probe and would not confirm the target, the material officers shovelled, or any arrests.
North Port police arrested Nicholas Eddy, 29, and Jessica Trach, 28, after their Special Investigations Unit searched a home on Narcissus Terrace and found marijuana packaged for sale along with cocaine, suspected LSD, steroids and pills. Both were accused of drug possession for sale, running a drug house and possessing drug paraphernalia.
