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Sheriff: 700K plants found during investigation involving Grover Beach cannabis shop

Posted at 6:57 PM, Mar 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-28 21:58:16-04

Two search warrants were served Thursday, culminating the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Cannabis Compliance Team largest investigation to date.

“This is a large scale operation,” said Kelly Hoover, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. “Probably the biggest one that we’ve seen so far that the Cannabis Compliance team has investigated.”

At around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, law enforcement served a search warrant at 805 Beach Breaks in Grover Beach. Another search warrant was served at a property in Los Alamos.

“There were over 700,000 illegal plants the sheriff’s office found through this investigation and through the search warrant today,” Hoover explained.

Photos courtesy Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office

 

The sheriff’s office says thousands of pounds of illegal processed marijuana was also discovered.

The investigation reportedly started about a month ago in Santa Barbara County and led the Cannabis Compliance Team to the first marijuana shop to open its doors in Grover Beach.

“This business, what we’ve learned so far, did not have the proper licensing and they were selling it through the black market which is problematic in that this marijuana has not been properly tested through the system and also is being sold without any type of accountability,” Hoover said.

KSBY News reached out to 805 Beach Breaks for comment but has not received a response.

Grover Beach City Manager Matt Bronson released the following statement Thursday following the service of the search warrant:

“The City of Grover Beach is aware of an active investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for alleged criminal activity related to cannabis businesses within Santa Barbara County. As part of this investigation, we understand a search warrant was executed today by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at the 805 Beach Breaks cannabis retail facility in Grover Beach. The Grover Beach Police Department has also opened an investigation to determine if any illegal activity has occurred in Grover Beach. 805 Beach Breaks will be allowed to continue operating as a licensed commercial cannabis business until the City of Grover Beach is aware of any violations of its ordinances. The Grover Beach Police Department will continue to assist the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies as needed.”

The sheriff’s office says marijuana, as well as records, were seized from the Grover Beach shop on Thursday.

The Cannabis Compliance Team was formed in June of 2018.

805 Beach Breaks also applied for a storefront in the City of San Luis Obispo but it was not awarded a contingent operator permit, city officials said Thursday.