Massive Drug Bust In Oklahoma Finds Marijuana Worth Millions Of Dollars Hidden In Boxes Labeled Shitake Mushrooms

Oklahoma authorities recently uncovered an illicit scheme to transport a significant quantity of marijuana, reported Fox 23. The illegal operation involved a warehouse and a truck with boxes labeled as "shitake mushrooms," in which an astounding amount of cannabis, estimated to be worth millions of dollars, was discovered.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs said the illegal cannabis scheme is not a novelty in the Sooner State and that the cannabis with a potential street value of $28 million was packed onto trucks to distribute nationwide.

OBN's Mark Woodward emphasized the downsides of the illicit marijuana market aside from an increase in crime and drugs statewide.

"You are talking about one semi-truck that had $28 million of estimated street value, Oklahoma is failing to capture potentially billions of dollars they were counting on when they voted for this for the roads and schools and bridges because it is being undercut and sold on the black market," he said. "Those are potentially millions of dollars not captured for the state."

See Also: Legal Cannabis Industry Is 'Bleeding To Death' In Oklahoma, Gov Suspects Thousands Of Illicit Operators

Wild West Of Weed

Meanwhile, Oklahoma made headlines earlier this year after OBN linked sex trafficking, prostitution and drug trafficking to specific cannabis farms. The agency served search warrants at four marijuana businesses shortly after.

"According to the tip, a person in the northeast part of the state was soliciting illicit sales of marijuana," Woodward said in March. "OBN Agents posing as black market buyers from out of state eventually made multiple purchases of marijuana tied to four medical marijuana farms in northeast Oklahoma."

As part of the operation, agents seized nearly 7,000 plants, 250 pounds of processed cannabis and four guns and arrested several people.

Cannabis Oversupply Issue

Besides the burgeoning illicit market, Oklahoma also has a marijuana oversupply problem, with operators producing more cannabis than the regulated market demands.

The state has even 32 times more cannabis than it is necessary to meet the demand, Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority said. The study was conducted by Cannabis Public Policy Consulting last month and it used the state's seed-to-sale tracking system to survey more than 1,300 medical marijuana consumers.

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Photo: Courtesy of CRYSTALWEED cannabis