Authorities claimed Thursday that they discovered dozens of individuals who had allegedly been smuggled into the country working and living in terrible conditions at an illicit marijuana farm in California’s Central Valley.
The operation was discovered by deputies when they executed a search warrant at a location (of the pot plant) on unincorporated territory close to the city of Merced on Wednesday afternoon. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office published pictures online of what seemed to be marijuana-filled trays, bags, and cartons in a dilapidated inner area.
“We literally have thousands of pounds of finished marijuana from an illegal grow and illegal source,” Sheriff Vern Warnke said in a video.
60 smuggled people at Pot Plant
In addition to one adolescent who was visited by child welfare officials and released to a parent, deputies discovered 60 people working there, including men and women who were given different unidentified resources.
In a statement, “Our investigators discovered that these people arrived at the property several days earlier with the promise that they would have a well-paying job and a place to stay.”
Without elaborating on the appalling living conditions, it said, “Once there, they were forced to process marijuana while staying in horrible living conditions to pay back the people that brought them across the border.”
Smuggled and indebted
“These folks are indentured, they owe money … they’re scared to death,” Warnke said.
“It’s heart-wrenching. So, we’re going to try and take care of these folks,” he added.
Authorities didn’t disclose their countries of origin.
Three goats and two dogs that were not being cared for adequately were also rescued, according to the statement.
No arrests were made but investigators were “working tirelessly to find the individuals responsible,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
US law on human trafficking
In order for a human trafficking offense to be committed, neither U.S. law nor international law requires that the victim or the trafficker cross a boundary. Not movement, but exploitation and compulsion constitute the crime of human trafficking. Victims may be exploited in the same communities where they were born or transported hundreds of kilometers away from their homes by traffickers.
The photo above is from Pexels