Medical Cannabis Grows Targeted in String of Oklahoma City Burglaries

Oklahoma City police are investigating a string of burglaries at cannabis grows in the area, KFOR reports. Authorities said that since January 1, there have been six incidents targeting grow sites.

MSgt. Jennifer Wardlow, with the Oklahoma City Police Department, described the situation as “Basically a crime spree that these individuals had been on for a period of about three or four days.”

Police are seeking two suspects they say were caught on camera on January 8 trying, and failing, to break into a cannabis cultivation business. The suspects then allegedly stole two vehicles from separate locations in Oklahoma‘s capital, which they are accused of using in six more burglaries across Oklahoma City, Wardlow said. The suspects are also accused of a burglary in Newcastle.

The burglaries targeting cannabis grows come on the heels of a string of burglaries targeting cannabis dispensaries last May when at least three dispensaries were targeted in Oklahoma City, KOKH reports.

Last November, an armed security guard at Oklahoma City’s Mango Cannabis dispensary shot and killed an armed individual that was trying to commit a robbery, according to KOKH.

Cannabis dispensaries are often targeted because they typically house a lot of cash due to federal law making it difficult, or impossible, to open bank accounts due to cannabis’ status as a Schedule I drug.