ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State police have destroyed tens of thousands of pounds of marijuana plants in greenhouses in northwestern New Mexico, marking what regulators say is the largest seizure and destruction of cannabis in New Mexico since new possession and cultivation laws came into effect in 2021.

Authorities announced the operation on Monday, saying dozens of agents had been assigned to eradicate the plants in October. The state Division of Cannabis Control has begun the process of revoking NNK Equity LLC’s license after it filed a noncompliance order and noncompliance order earlier this year.

The company was accused of not posting its licenses on site, not obtaining water rights for cultivation, not having cameras that could monitor certain areas of its operation, and violating sanitation and health requirements.

“The organization involved has shown a blatant disregard for the laws of this state, and we will prove that once this investigation is complete,” New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said in a statement.

Jacob Candelaria, an Albuquerque attorney representing NNK Equity, disputed the state’s claims and accused regulators and state police of violating his client’s civil rights. He said the state failed to provide proper notice of its intent to revoke the company’s license and subsequently denied a request for a hearing on the merits of the case.

He said clients Irving Lin and Bao Xue speak Mandarin Chinese and have limited ability to understand written English. Lin asked for a Chinese translation, but the lawyer said regulators did not respond to his request.

The Division of Cannabis Control said in filings related to the case that it complied with notice and hearing requirements and granted the company its due process rights.

The company plans to ask a state district judge to vacate the license revocation order and order state regulators to hold a hearing, Candelaria said. He added that NNK Equity also plans to sue the state for the destruction of what it said is hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of private property.

“The idea that law enforcement officers can destroy public property under a temporary restraining order — which can be entered without notice to all parties and before an evidentiary hearing — as was the case here, should concern all of us who believe in Constitution.”

According to state regulators, NNK Equity received a license in December 2023 for a marijuana-growing operation at a property in Waterflow, a rural area on the edge of the Navajo Nation and just south of the Colorado border. The region also made headlines earlier this year when state regulators cracked down to two other operations and Navajo Nation authorities arrived filing their own charges against two tribesmen.

In the latest case, the Cannabis Control Division conducted a compliance check in June and determined that NNK Equity had exceeded its allotted number of plants. The New Mexico State Police Special Investigations Unit was brought in and later found plants at a second location that was not licensed.

Violations highlighted by state regulators also involve shipping and tracking requirements, which include assigning identification numbers to each plant.