LIVE OAK — Law enforcement busted a large illegal honey oil lab and unpermitted cannabis operation, confiscating an ice cream freezer truck filled with several thousand pounds of frozen cannabis material and more.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with the Santa Cruz County Cannabis Licensing Office to serve a search warrant Thursday at a warehouse in the 1900 block of Commercial Way. Officials also confiscated 5,400 pounds of cannabis, 5 pounds of cannabis concentrate, 114 pounds of honey oil and hundreds of counterfeit vape pens.
An arrest in the case was still pending Friday, but the lab operator could be facing charges of alleged felony manufacturing drugs and possession of controlled substances for sale, conspiracy to manufacture and distribute, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said.
Because the butane honey oil lab itself, in addition to hazardous electrical circuitry at the site, posed a public danger, nearby homes and businesses were evacuated as a safety precaution during the dismantling. Though the lab was adjacent to nearby General Feed and Seed and JC Heating and Air, it was not associated with either, Keehn said.
“Several fires have occurred recently in similar situations,” according to Keehn.
