Navajo Nation charges 2 tribal members with illegally growing marijuana as part of complex case

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. have charged two tribal members with illegally growing marijuana on the Navajo Nation. Tribal prosecutors announced the charges Thursday, claiming the two men had operated a massive marijuana growing operation in and around Shiprock, New Mexico. The growing operation first made headlines in 2020 when local police found Chinese immigrant workers trimming marijuana in motel rooms in a nearby community. Federal, state and tribal authorities then raided the farms and destroyed a quarter-million plants. Just this week, New Mexico regulators rescinded a license for Dineh Benally — one of the tribal members — for another growing operation in central New Mexico.