WATSONVILLE—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office have disrupted a major hash oil lab on Hangar Way in Watsonville.
Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said agents from the Cannabis Licensing Office are investigating the discovery of an illegal operation using dangerous chemicals and equipment to produce “honey oil.”
Detectives executed a search warrant on Hangar Way Thursday and found more than 1,200 pounds of cannabis in a moving truck, 341 cannabis plants under cultivation, seven rifles including four illegal assault rifles, two handguns and $50,200 cash. Detectives also discovered an electrical bypass being used to steal power for the illegal operation.
Further investigation led to a related site with illicit butane honey oil manufacturing. On Friday, detectives served a search warrant on the 900 block of Browns Valley Road in Corralitos and discovered a butane honey oil (BHO) extraction lab had been recently removed from the property. It was suspected that while detectives were serving the search warrant on Hangar Way, the BHO lab was being removed from the Browns Valley Road property, Hoppin said. Detectives found an additional two rifles, a handgun, processed butane honey oil, 124 pounds of cannabis and illicit vape cartridges.
The discoveries and disruption follows the discovery of another large butane honey oil lab on Commercial Way in Live Oak. During that investigation, detectives found a large commercial butane extraction unit, commercial cannabis processing machines, cylinders of highly volatile butane, various forms of extracted cannabis materials, 9,471 pounds of cannabis material, 915 illicit vape pens and evidence of commercial sales and distribution.
Following evacuation of neighboring businesses and residents, hazardous site mitigation was led by the Santa Cruz County Department of Environmental Health.
Criminal charges will be sought for those involved with the BHO labs, Hoppin said.
Butane hash oil is a cannabis concentrate produced from cannabis material using butane, heat and pressure. Unregulated butane honey oil extraction is a highly dangerous process posing a significant risk to public safety, including fire and explosions.
