Man pleads guilty to operating huge illegal pot growing operation in New Mexico

A Navajo Nation man charged by federal prosecutors with running a vast illegal cannabis cultivation and distribution ring pleaded guilty Tuesday to 15 felony crimes and faces up to life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Dineh Benally, 48, admitted in his federal plea agreement that he operated more than 30 farms covering some 400 acres on land obtained from Navajo Nation members. He also admitted hiring illegal Chinese workers to grow cannabis on his farms.

Benally entered the plea on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Robbenhaar.

Benally also admitted that he built an illegal sandbag dam on the San Juan River by dumping sand, rocks and agricultural waste in the river channel to irrigate his crops, the agreement said. Benally also built 1,100 greenhouses as part of his growing operation near Shiprock, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

“This case shows the human and environmental costs when the law is ignored, and it underscores our office’s commitment to protecting New Mexico’s communities and natural resources alongside our federal, state, tribal and local partners,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison said in a statement.

In November 2020, law enforcement officers seized about 260,000 marijuana plants and 60,000 pounds of processed cannabis from the farms Benally owned, the statement said.

Benally pleaded guilty to 15 federal criminal counts, including two drug trafficking conspiracy charges and four charges of manufacturing with intent to distribute cannabis.

“The FBI remains committed to identifying, investigating, and dismantling criminal organizations operating in New Mexico.” Justin A. Garris, special agent in charge of the FBI Albuquerque Division, said in a statement.

Other charges listed in the plea include unlawfully employing illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, smuggling illegal pesticides into the U.S. and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

A second period of Benally’s operations occurred from January 2020 through early this year involving an illegal growing operation near Estancia.

Benally, his father Donald Benally, 74, and Irving Rea Yui Lin, 73, were arrested Jan. 23 when federal agents raided two cannabis farms in Estancia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Agents also identified 10 Chinese workers at the farms.

Federal charges are pending against Donald Benally and Yi, court records show.

That raid, including a search of Dineh Benally’s residence, turned up 8,500 pounds of marijuana, $35,000 in cash, methamphetamine, illegal pesticides and firearms, the statement said.