List of cannabis seizures


This is a list of cannabis seizures notable for record-setting size or social precedent.
OperationAgencyLocationYearAmount and form*Notes
U.S.–Colombia joint operationGuajira Peninsula, Colombia1978570+ tonsLargest drug seizure to date by a factor of 10, worth $200 million.
Night Train SeizureUS Coast GuardAtlantic Ocean near Florida197854 tons
US Coast GuardPacific Ocean 150 miles from San Diego198426,000 poundsYacht Arrakis; largest on West Coast to date.
Project PacificoU.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
and Mexican authorities		Chihuahua, Northern Mexico198410,000 tons Series of raids in Mexico, some unharvested plants, some harvested and baled. Seizure included 45 trucks able to carry 30 tons of bales each.
US Coast Guard Cutter Roger B Taney Atlantic Ocean1985160 TonsTug and Barge
Cornbread Mafia seizureOrganized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force 10 Midwest states, based in Kentucky1989182 tons valued at $350 millionOver 70 individuals indicted operating 29 farms, called by federal prosecutors the "largest domestic marijuana producing organization in the nation."
Operation Green SweepUS Army/National Guard/Bureau of Land ManagementKing Range National Conservation Area, Emerald Triangle, California19901400 plantsFirst time active-duty troops engaged in counterdrug activities inside US borders.
Operation ConquistadorDEACaribbean 2000362 tonnesDEA coordinated 26 country effort; largest in this table by weight.
Operation KeymerLocal policeCambridge UK2006
Operation Imperial EmperorDEACalifornia–Mexico200727,229 poundsOther drugs and $45 million cash seized.
Federal/localHouston200719,000 poundsSeized drugs were being transported in school buses.
Norwegian cannabis raidsNational Criminal Investigation ServiceNorway2007–2008500 cannabis plants on a single farm, over 40 individual raidsOne of Norway's largest narcotics cases.
Counter Narcotics Police of AfghanistanKahdahar, Afghanistan2008260 tons hashish
520,000 lb†		Said to be largest drug seizure in history at the time, worth $400 million.
US interagency?Queens200950,000 poundsBC bud, street value $150 million.
Operation Save our SierraState/FederalFresno, California2009330,000 plantsEstimated value $1 billion, second largest in this table.
RCMPMontreal20108 tons hashishFound in abandoned trailer.
Operation DeliveranceDEAMexico–US201069 tonsBilateral
Cowabungle raid?Federal policeTijuana2010105 tonsLargest seizure in Mexico in years.
Mexican ArmyBaja California desert, Mexico2011120 tons of marijuana, worth 1.8 billion pesos Largest plantation ever seized in Mexico; over open-air farm one mile from federal highway, possibly run by Sinaloa cartel
Operation Kruz ControlFederal interagency/localArizona2012–201327,000 poundsYear-long operation.
CBPCalexico border crossing201335,000 poundsLargest seizure at US-Mexico border.
Operation EvergladesCBPChokoloskee1983–1984500,000 lbsLargest seizure at the time
Local policeGoodrich, Texas2014100,000 plantsLargest seizure in Texas history at the time.
Operation Weed Eaters and Operation ThunderstormNational Drug Law Enforcement AgencyAkure, Ondo StateJanuary–June 2014Largest single seizure by agency in Ondo State to date, valued at 364 million naira.
Operation Weed Eaters and Operation ThunderstormNational Drug Law Enforcement AgencyOndo State and elsewhere in NigeriaJanuary–June 2014Largest single seizure by agency in Ondo State to date, valued at 364 million naira.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Otay Mesa port of entry, San Diego County, California201527,000 poundsSecond-largest seizure at US–Mexico border.
Federal/localLipscomb County, Texas2015109,000 plantsNew state record.
Hong Kong Police ForceHong Kong2017Largest seizure in HK in a decade.
DuPage County Metropolitan Enforcement GroupDuPage County, Illinois 20217,688 pounds of cannabis, 406 pounds of cannabis edibles, and 6,891 THC vaping cartridgesLargest seizure in DuPage County "in memory", estimated to be worth $22 million.
Operation Trojan ShieldU.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Australian Federal Police
New Zealand Police
Europol		202122 tonsEnabled by ANOM standalone encryption devices used by criminals but secretly supplied by FBI.
Antelope Valley eradication operationLos Angeles County Sheriff
other southern California sheriffs
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
California National Guard
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration		2021375,000 cannabis plants and 33,480 pounds of harvested marijuanaLargest seizure ever in Los Angeles County, worth over one billion dollars.
Oregon State PoliceWhite City, Oregon2021500,000 pounds of harvested marijuanaMore than 100 people were arrested along with the seizure marijuana worth approximately $500 million.
Operation CaribbeCanadian Armed ForcesCaribbean2006–2021 or laterOver 6.7 tonnes of seized cannabis, 105 tonnes of cocaine as of 2021Included operations by attack submarines HMCS Corner Brook in 2008 and 2011, and HMCS Victoria in 2014.
Federal-state-tribal interagencyNavajo Reservation near Shiprock, New Mexico2020260,000 plantsOver 1,000 greenhouses raided; probably a mix of hemp and THC-bearing cannabis, employed many non-US persons.
Guardia Civil and Policía ForalSpain2022415,000 cannabis plantsWorth an estimated $108 million, called largest cannabis farm in Europe with under cultivation.
Yamhill County Sheriff deputies and volunteers, aided by Oregon State Police, Port of Portland PDX Task Force, Newberg-Dundee Police Department, Polk County Sheriff's Office, and Tualatin Valley Fire & RescueYamhill County, Oregon outside Newberg 2022Over 38 tons of harvested marijuanaLargest seizure in county history; farm unlicensed by Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission processing for illegal out-of-state sale; firearms and $80,000 in foil-wrapped cash also seized; evidence of wire transfers to Mexican state of Michoacán. Cannabis valued at $76.5 million in Oregon or $269 million on US East Coast.

*Assumed dried leaf or flower material unless otherwise specified.
†May not be independently verified