Navajo Nation charges 2 in complex marijuana case

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Authorities have charged two tribal citizens with illegally growing marijuana on the Navajo Nation, marking just the latest development in a years-long case that also has involved allegations of forced labor.

Tribal prosecutors announced the charges Thursday, claiming that Navajo businessman Dineh Benally and farmer Farley BlueEyes had operated a massive marijuana growing operation in and around Shiprock, New Mexico. The two men were expected to be arraigned on the charges in late January, prosecutors said.

Benally had previously been charged for interference with judicial proceedings after a Navajo judge granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in 2020 that was aimed at halting operations at the farms in northwestern New Mexico.

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