Raid Finds an Illegal Weed Grow in Home Owned by California Police Officer

Sept. 4, 2024

When officers of the state Department of Cannabis Control swooped in on a neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Antioch this spring, they found what they were looking for — about $1 million in illegal marijuana — and one surprise.

By Doug Smith

Source Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Cannabis plants grow in a temperature-controlled room, in a file image. A recent raid in the Bay Area included a home owned by a local police officer.

ANTIOCH, California -- When officers of the state Department of Cannabis Control swooped in on a neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Antioch this spring, they found what they were looking for — about $1 million in illegal marijuana — and one surprise.

One of the three houses they raided was owned by an officer of the Oakland Police Department.

In an email, the department confirmed that it “is aware of the allegations made against one of our members and is cooperating with outside law enforcement agencies on the case.”

The officer was placed on administrative leave April 30, and the matter is under investigation, the statement said.

Citing an ongoing personnel matter, the Police Department declined to name the officer.

CNN, which first reported the raid, identified the officer as Samson Liu, 38.

Real estate records show that a Samson Liu purchased a 2,800-square-foot house in Antioch in 2020 for $608,000.

The raid highlights the extent of illegal pot operations and the recent entry of Chinese organized crime in the the industry California voters legalized in 2016, the cannabis control department told the news outlet.

The department did not immediately respond Tuesday to the Los Angeles Times’ request for comment.

The majority of homes raided in Antioch were owned or occupied by people with Chinese names, CNN reported based on search warrant affidavits, online property records and interviews with neighbors.

A Times investigation based on confidential state records, public files, online sales and social networks found that in the last three years, the use of contraband Chinese pesticides on cannabis farms has spread across California.

Chinese-labeled pesticides have shown up now in at least six California counties, at both illegal and licensed growing operations. The poisons were present on half of 25 illegal farms in Siskiyou County raided by a state task force during a July 2023 sting operation that saw three officers require medical treatment after suffering exposure.

In a continuing investigation, the Times found chemicals tied to cancer, liver failure, thyroid disease and genetic and neurologic harm in marijuana sold in licensed dispensaries.

___