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Deputies on a routine helicopter patrol discovered a massive grove of up to 20,000 marijuana plants growing near a park and gated community in this upscale Orange County suburb, authorities announced Wednesday.
The mature plants were spotted Tuesday and have a street value of $12.5 million, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.
"This is the largest pot bust in the county's history," he said.
Deputies first spotted irrigation pipes near O'Neill Regional Park and thought they stumbled on a small pot growing operation. But when they followed the irrigation trail, they found a second marijuana grove hidden under a cluster of oak trees, Amormino said.
The plants were growing close to multimillion dollar homes inside a gated community, and the pot growers had tapped into the community's water supply, Amormino said.
"This is probably part of a large cartel, and not connected to anyone inside the community," Amormino said.
Investigators plan to analyze a rifle and other evidence recovered from the scene, Sheriff Mike Carona told KCAL-TV.
"No doubt in my mind we'll make arrests behind this," Carona said.
Newshawk: 420AM&PM - 420 Magazine
Source: SF Gate / San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Pubdate: September 20, 2006
Copyright: ©2006 Associated Press
Contact: SF Gate: Staff
Website: SF Gate: News and Information for the San Francisco Bay Area
The mature plants were spotted Tuesday and have a street value of $12.5 million, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.
"This is the largest pot bust in the county's history," he said.
Deputies first spotted irrigation pipes near O'Neill Regional Park and thought they stumbled on a small pot growing operation. But when they followed the irrigation trail, they found a second marijuana grove hidden under a cluster of oak trees, Amormino said.
The plants were growing close to multimillion dollar homes inside a gated community, and the pot growers had tapped into the community's water supply, Amormino said.
"This is probably part of a large cartel, and not connected to anyone inside the community," Amormino said.
Investigators plan to analyze a rifle and other evidence recovered from the scene, Sheriff Mike Carona told KCAL-TV.
"No doubt in my mind we'll make arrests behind this," Carona said.
Newshawk: 420AM&PM - 420 Magazine
Source: SF Gate / San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Pubdate: September 20, 2006
Copyright: ©2006 Associated Press
Contact: SF Gate: Staff
Website: SF Gate: News and Information for the San Francisco Bay Area
