State agents seized an estimated 6,300 illegal cannabis plants, about 10.5 tons of weed, from a large-scale grow on Howell Road near Estancia on Thursday. 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.
Twenty-one greenhouses near Estancia went from green to gone after the seizure, the department confirmed.
“We will continue to investigate illegal cannabis cultivation operations throughout New Mexico,” Enforcement Bureau Chief Vince Mares said in the RLD news release.
Commission Chairman Sam Bregman said the bust shows “organized crime requires an organized, coordinated response from the state.”
The Enforcement Bureau was created by the Legislature in 2025 through House Bill 10. Its certified peace officers investigate criminal violations of the Cannabis Regulation Act.
The bureau is working multiple illegal-grow cases across the state, according to the department. Thursday’s action was the result of a coordinated effort between two state agencies.
The Estancia Valley has seen this before. In January 2025, federal, state and county officers raided two cannabis greenhouse operations near Estancia.
Thursday’s seizure targeted a single property on Howell Road.
The department described the equipment found on site as evidence of a long-term operation. Generators, water pumps and storage tanks supported the grow.
RLD has not said when charges might be filed. The investigation remains ongoing.
Further details about the property or its ownership were not released.
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