By Kevin Hendricks
Twenty-one greenhouses near Estancia went from green to gone Thursday after state agents seized an estimated 6,300 illegal cannabis plants, about 10.5 tons of weed, from a large-scale grow on Howell Road.
The Regulation and Licensing Department’s Enforcement Bureau and the New Mexico Organized Crime Commission served a search warrant at 102 Howell Road after a two-month investigation, according to an RLD news release. Agents found 21 hoop houses, each packed with roughly 300 mature plants. They also found generators, water pumps and storage tanks, which the department says point to a sophisticated operation built to last.
A New Mexico State Police hazmat technician helped agents identify potentially hazardous materials on site. The search ended without incident, the department said.
The release did not name a suspect or announce any arrests. RLD is working with Organized Crime Commission prosecutors to pursue criminal charges.
“We will continue to investigate illegal cannabis cultivation operations throughout New Mexico,” Enforcement Bureau Chief Vince Mares said.
Commission Chairman Sam Bregman said the bust shows “organized crime requires an organized, coordinated response from the state.”
The Estancia Valley has seen this before. In January 2025, federal, state and county officers raided two cannabis greenhouse operations near Estancia.
The Legislature created the Enforcement Bureau in 2025 through House Bill 10. Its certified peace officers investigate criminal violations of the Cannabis Regulation Act, and the bureau is working multiple illegal-grow cases across the state, according to the department.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 21 hoop houses
- ~300 plants per hoop house
- ~6,300 plants seized
- 21,000 pounds (10.5 tons)
- 2 months of investigation