() A new crisis has arisen in California that has authorities sounding an alarm on the smuggling of illegal pesticides.
Authorities have reported that Chinese criminal groups and other Asian gangs have infiltrated the illegal marijuana trade and are transporting the drug to northern regions of the state.
One official added that the pesticides are killing everything in sight and destroying the environment.
“A lot of the chemicals that are being used are hazardous to humans,” says Matt Kendall, Mendocino County Sheriff.
Kendall mentioned that officials are observing a growing trend of extensive illegal marijuana cultivation operations, managed by Chinese cartels ready to resort to violence to defend their illicit activities. These cartels exploit trafficked migrant workers in the U.S. to grow marijuana for the black market.
Additionally, it has become common for these illicit farms to use outlawed pesticides on the plants, significantly harming the environment.
“These crime groups use extremely hazardous and powerful chemicals because they completely protect their valuable crops,” stated Lt. John Nores Jr. from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“It keeps everything off their marijuana plant,” he said.
Nores Jr. cautions that without stricter regulation of these poisonous substances, the environmental impact in California could take many years to repair. Last month, Siskiyou County announced a state of emergency due to the illegal pesticide usage.
Authorities in Maine, Oklahoma, and New Mexico have also reported the use of illegal pesticides on Chinese-controlled marijuana grown sites.
The Environmental Protection Agency has stepped in to investigate.
