Sandwiched between the San Joaquin River and a trio of stunning national parks, the California city of Antioch appears to be a peaceful part of the state’s East Bay region, but it’s actually home to a vast underground criminal organization.
You’d never know it based on the neighborhood’s wealth. In fact, residents pay 93 percent more than the national average to live in the posh area, with the average home costing $588,000 while renters pay an average of $2,850 per month, according to Flying houses.
But behind the sunny exterior of this Golden State city lies a seedy, underground weed trade operating behind the walls of hundreds of the city’s homes.
According to Antioch police, approximately 60 suspected illegal marijuana dens have been raided in the past two years NBC – and officers believe hundreds more are in operation.
Despite the high number of arrests, only two people have been arrested and charged, and both got away with their offenses with impunity, thanks to the laxity of California’s laws.
Sandwiched between the San Joaquin River and a trio of beautiful national parks, the California city of Antioch (pictured above) seems like a peaceful part of the state’s East Bay region
Oakland Police Officer Samson Liu, 38, of Antioch, was suspended April 30 after the farmhouse was found on the property (pictured)
While the average household income in Antioch is $90,709, some residents earn significantly more through this shady trade.
An April drug raid on a luxury five-bedroom, two-story home in Antioch found hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal cannabis in that home alone.
Officials revealed that the property belonged to an Oakland police officer, Samson Liu, 38, who has since been suspended.
It is unclear whether Liu lived in the home or rented it out. No arrests have been made.
In another raid this spring, authorities discovered about $1 million worth of illegal marijuana in another five-bedroom home on affluent Shell Ridge Way.
An April drug bust at a luxury five-bedroom, two-story home in Antioch found hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal cannabis in the home alone (pictured)
Bill Jones, chief law enforcement officer for the California Department of Cannabis Control, said CNN The illegal marijuana trade in Antioch is largely run by ‘the Chinese criminal syndicate’.
The operation is so extensive that police suspect there are more Chinese nationals involved in the illegal marijuana trade than Mexican cartels.
However, Vanda Felbab-Brown, a Brookings Institute expert on international crime, said CNN that Chinese and Mexican criminal gangs also often work together to smuggle Chinese migrants into the US to work in the illegal marijuana trade.
She told CNN that the US government urgently needs to step up its oversight of this problem.
“We prioritize military decision-making in China, but Chinese organized crime and organized crime in general are not a high priority for intelligence gathering,” Felbab-Brown said.
Antioch’s sunny exterior belies the shady underground marijuana trade operating behind the walls of hundreds of the city’s homes
Pictured: Historic buildings in downtown Antioch, East Bay, California
‘That has to change.’
The illegal marijuana trade in Antioch is just the tip of the iceberg and is a problem occurring throughout California.
Criminals in the Golden State found guilty of dealing any amount of illegal marijuana will, except in extreme cases, be prosecuted only for a misdemeanor.
Exceptions include if the illegal marijuana was sold to a child, or if the offender was already a registered sex offender.
Antioch has built a reputation for developing a large number of high-yielding indoor grow operations (Pictured: Cannabis from a raid last week)
Despite the high number of arrests in Antioch over the past two years, only two people have been arrested and charged there — and both got away with misdemeanors, thanks to California’s lax laws. (Photo: California Governor Gavin Newsom)
Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue, whose Northern California district is teeming with illegal trafficking, said CNN: ‘You can have seven plants or 70,000 plants, it’s still the same violation.
‘It’s actually just a joke.’
According to economist Beau Whitney, the state is responsible for producing about 40 percent of all marijuana in the country, and 75 percent of the economy is illegal.
California legalized recreational marijuana in 2016, but since then, more and more sellers have been avoiding the rules, fees and taxes that come with operating in the heavily regulated legal business.