When state Department of Cannabis Control officers arrived at a neighborhood in the Bay Area city of Antioch this spring, they found what they were looking for — about $1 million worth of illegal marijuana — and a surprise.
One of the three homes raided was owned by an Oakland Police Department officer.
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 in the case.”
The officer was placed on administrative leave on April 30 and the matter is under investigation, the statement said.
Citing an ongoing personnel matter, the Police Department declined to identify the officer.
CNN, which first reported the raid, identified the officer as Samson Liu, 38.
Real estate records show Samson Liu purchased a 2,800-square-foot home in Antioch in 2020 for $608,000.
The raid highlights the scale of illegal marijuana sales operations and the recent entry of Chinese organized crime into the industry that California voters legalized in 2016, the cannabis enforcement agency told the news outlet. Law enforcement officials said the operations were sophisticated and coordinated and showed evidence of the “Chinese criminal syndicate,” but declined to elaborate further due to ongoing investigations.
The agency did not immediately respond Tuesday to The Times' request for comment.
A recent investigation by the Los Angeles Times looked at another facet of illegal cannabis in California. Drawing on confidential state records, public filings, online sales and social media, the Times found that over the past three years, the use of contraband pesticides on cannabis farms has spread across California.
These pesticides have already turned up in at least six California counties, in both illegal and licensed grow operations. The poisons were present at half of the 25 illegal farms in Siskiyou County that were raided by a state task force during an undercover operation in July 2023 in which three agents needed medical treatment after exposure.
In an ongoing investigation, The Times found chemicals linked to cancer, liver failure, thyroid disease and genetic and neurological damage in marijuana sold in licensed dispensaries.
Times research librarian Scott Wilson contributed to this report.
