On Aug. 29, 2024 the Department of Cannabis Control posted on X (formerly Twitter) stating that this week a UCETF (Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce) operation in Contra Costa County led to 1,315 lbs of illegal cannabis, 2,317 plants seized equalling $2.1M in product value in Contra Costa County. (Courtesy of the Department of Cannabis Control)
ANTIOCH — An Oakland police officer is on administrative leave after a home he owned was raided by the state’s Department of Cannabis Control earlier this year, one of at least 58 raids in Antioch since the agency was formed in 2021, according to a new report.
The investigation by CNN into illegal cannabis grow operations nationwide focused on the case of Oakland police Officer Samson Liu, who was the owner of one of the homes at the time of the raid. The home on Sierra Trail Way was put on the market in July, according to a listing on Zillow, and a sale is currently pending.
No one was arrested in relation to the raid, not an uncommon outcome in California, which has in recent years taken a less carceral approach to illegal cannabis. Oakland police officials told CNN that the officer was placed on administrative leave following the April 2024 raid, but authorities would not clarify if he was living in or renting the home at the time.
On Aug. 29, 2024 the Department of Cannabis Control posted on X (formerly Twitter) stating that this week a UCETF (Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce) operation in Contra Costa County led to 1,315 lbs of illegal cannabis, 2,317 plants seized equalling $2.1M in product value in Contra Costa County. (Courtesy of the Department of Cannabis Control)
The Oakland Police Department on Tuesday confirmed that Liu had been placed on administrative leave on April 30, and that “the matter is under investigation.” The agency said it was “cooperating with outside law enforcement agencies,” but declined to comment further, citing the fact that “this is an ongoing personnel matter.”
Roughly two months after the raid, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office decided not to file criminal charges against Liu in connection with the grow operation due to a “lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” officials said.
CNN reported that law enforcement agents seized 80 pounds of illegal cannabis found in the home, and that the home had been modified drastically for the purpose of cannabis cultivation, including the installation of a generator and extensive ventilation. The 2,800-square-foot, four-bedroom home on Sierra Trail Way was built in 2019 as part of The Hills at Park Ridge subdivision. Two other homes on that street were raided on the same day, with $1 million of illegal product seized from the three locations.
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According to data from the Department of Cannabis Control and published by the news network, the only city in the state that has had more raids than Antioch is Los Angeles, a city with over 30 times the population of the Contra Costa County suburb. Los Angeles had 89 raids during the same time period, compared to 58 in the inland city of 115,000 residents.
On Tuesday, Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe praised the work by state officials to crack down on illegal marijuana grows, adding that “we’re going to shut these illegal grow operations down.” He and other city leaders have been worried about such grow operations for years, he said, yet didn’t have the resources to fully address the issue.
“We’re putting everybody on notice that we’re coming for you, whether you like it not,” Hernandez-Thorpe said. “We’re not going to tolerate this any longer in the city of Antioch.”
The city has developed a reputation among the state’s pot cops as a hotbed of illegal grow houses, according to the investigation. Bill Jones, chief of law enforcement at the Department of Cannabis Control, told CNN some operations they have raided in Antioch show signs similar to others linked to “the Chinese criminal syndicate,” and said the presence of those forces have eclipsed that of the Mexican cartels in recent years in California’s black market.
Liu joined OPD in April 2015 after graduating from the department’s police academy. In 2023, Liu made $137,000 in regular pay and $158,000 in overtime, according to Transparent California, a database of public employee pay.