Holy cow. 25,700 plants found in ten different plots in Switzerland County, Indiana.
Sombody got busy this spring.
Talk about a field of dreams: Someone was secretly growing more than 25,700 marijuana plants in a dense forest in Switzerland County, Ind., until law enforcement agencies discovered them last week.
The crop set an Indiana state record for a single outdoor growing operation, Indiana State Police said.
It took three days for officers from five agencies – Indiana Conservation, Switzerland County Sheriff’s Office, Vevay police, the Indiana State Police and the Indiana National Guard -- to round up the crop and eradicate it.
Helicopters from the Indiana National Guard flew personnel in and out of the dense forest.
And, based on conservative estimates that state police provided, the crop had a street value of more than $38 million.
The big question - who was growing it - remains a mystery. The Indiana State Police said it didn’t know who was cultivating it.
Events leading to the big discovery began two weeks ago, when conservation officers spotted a large plot of marijuana on Green Valley Road off Indiana 56. Those officers eradicated 864 plants and recommended that state police fly over the area in a helicopter to check for other plants. The first flight officers were able to schedule was last Thursday.
“While flying in Indiana National Guard helicopters, state police and National Guard spotters discovered several other plots in the area,” a news release said. That led to another 3,700 plants. Then, “troopers, deputies, and local police worked all day” on Friday and Saturday. “The total eradicated for the three-day operation was 24,877 plants. When added to the 864 plants eradicated two weeks earlier by conservation officers the total number of plants exceeded 25,700, an Indiana record for a single outdoor growing operation,” a news release said.
The plants were growing on 10 different plots, which investigators believe “were all part of the same growing operation,” a news release said.
Officers asked anyone with any information about the cultivator of the crop to call the Indiana State Police Post at Versailles at 812-689-5000 or the Indiana State Police Marijuana Tip Hotline at 888-873-1694 (from within Indiana only). Callers may remain anonymous, police said.
Sombody got busy this spring.
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