A routine property visit led to the discovery of an illegal marijuana grow operation in the Marble City/Dwight Mission area last week, resulting in the seizure of over 650 pounds of processed marijuana, authorities said.

On June 26, Sequoyah County Sheriff ’s deputies responded to a property that had recently changed hands in a delinquent tax sale. When Deputy Hunter Hutchinson accompanied the new owner to enforce a lockout writ, they uncovered what appeared to be a large-scale, unlicensed marijuana cultivation site.

“A person had purchased some property from the unpaid property tax sale at the courthouse,” Sheriff Larry Lane said. “When Deputy Hutchinson and the new property owner arrived at the property to serve the lock-out writ, they discovered a largescale grow operation and called Investigator Dwayne Frizzell to come to the location.”

After confirming that no state-issued license existed for the property under the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, Investigator Frizzell contacted the Oklahoma Bu- reau of Narcotics’ Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET) to take over the case.

“OBNDD has a fantastic MET team and we have called on them several times to take these large operations off our hands,” Sheriff Lane said. “We are fortunate to have them as a resource to call on, much like we would call OSBI in for homicide cases. They’re the professionals in those fields, that’s what they do.”

With a signed search warrant in hand, OBNDD agents returned to the site, assisted by several Sequoyah County deputies, including Trevor Charlton, Randall Hicks, Wade Hall, Garrett Fargo, Austin Blackfox and Hutchinson.

Together, they recovered approximately 656 pounds of processed marijuana, believed to be intended for sale on the black market.

To handle the massive haul, the Sheriff ’s Office requested support from County Commissioner Beau Burlison and his crew, who assisted with the removal and destruction of some of the seized materials.

No suspects were found at the property during the operation, but officials say the investigation is ongoing and charges are expected.

“This kind of illegal operation undermines our regulated medical marijuana industry and poses serious safety risks,” Lane said. “We’ll continue to investigate and take appropriate action.”

Authorities have not released any names connected to the grow site as of press time.