(NewsNation) — It’s a busy time of the year in rural Oklahoma for lifelong farmers like Larry Williams and his son Colby. It’s hard work that Larry learned from his dad, and Colby now learns from him.
As they’re moving the cattle and harvesting the wheat, it feels so American, yet there’s something nefarious happening not far from their farm with the Chinese.
“You see things that you feel that are suspicious, you know,” said Larry.
“Suspicious” is an understatement to describe what is secretly happening here in Middle America.
Illegal weed-growing operations are being run not by Americans but by the Chinese. Oklahoma law enforcement says they’re shutting down, on average, 15 of the unlawful grow houses every single day. They say the Chinese growers come across the southern U.S.-Mexico border and then travel to Oklahoma to work at the black market grow houses.
“Alright, here’s one of the Chinese places right here,” said Larry. “And they just built this barn in the last eight months, and the door’s open, by the way.”
State law enforcement says drone video from another Oklahoma Chinese grow house shows people rushing to hide marijuana when police showed up, placing the illegal pot in the shed.
For locals, even from the road, it’s easy to spot the Chinese operations by the fences that no one else has in the area, air conditioning units outside the barns, vans used to transport the Chinese migrants to the pot farms and expensive high-voltage electricity hookups to run fans and grow lights.
A large percentage of the black market marijuana consumed on the East Coast is derived from Oklahoma, according to local law enforcement.
The Chinese migrants working the farm, according to neighbors, have been spotted sleeping in garages amid subhuman conditions. Larry told NewsNation that he’s seen them living with no heat when the temperatures dropped well below zero.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond says all of the money made by the Chinese owners is sent back to mainland China.
“The Chinese are not dumb. I mean, they recognize it, and they can exploit and drive behavior of unsuspecting Oklahomans through this cash transaction,” he said.
To Larry, some of his neighbors are sellouts. Not just selling out his community but all of America. Even after the sun goes down, Larry is still working his land.
“I work too hard to see somebody just come in here and make a quick buck,” he said.