Each year, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office participates in Operation Green Wave, an enforcement effort that includes the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service, CalCannabis, and the California Water Resource Control Board.
The Sheriff’s Office has also partnered with the California National Guard for the 2019 Operation Green Wave.
Involved agencies work together to address environmental damage caused by illegal cannabis cultivation in the state.
On Tuesday, September 17, teams involved with Operation Green Wave served a search warrant at an unpermitted cannabis cultivation site on a property in the Burr Valley area of Humboldt County near Highway 36.
When authorities served the search warrant, they found 42-year-old Zeb Giacomini tending to cannabis plants on the property.
Giacomini is a cannabis cultivator with a permitted grow on his property, but had expanded his operation onto neighboring land.
According to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, numerous stream violations, stream pollution, and illegal grading issues were found at the grow site.
During the service of the warrant, officers discovered 1,442 cannabis plants that were being grown outdoors, 50 pounds of processed marijuana, five rifles, and two handguns.
Two of the five rifles were discovered to have been modified to be fully automatic.
Giacomini was arrested and taken to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where he was booked on a felony charge of marijuana cultivation as well as possession of marijuana for sales; additional charges are currently pending.
