Massive Santa Barbara Pot Garden Worth $210M Found
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A massive marijuana garden — 61,000 plants worth nearly $200 million — was discovered in a remote area along the border of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Three Mexicans were arrested and plants up to 8-feet-tall were uprooted after discovery of the pot garden east of Twitchell Reservoir near Highway 166, Sgt. Erik Raney said.
Santa Barbara County deputies flying a routine patrol by helicopter discovered the marijuana farm on July 6 and deputies, along with San Luis Obispo County authorities, moved in for the bust, the sergeant said.
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On July 8, three illegal immigrants were arrested, including two who had previously been deported and may face additional felony charges for illegal re-entry into the U.S.
"The plants were located in nine separate grows within a short distance of the riverbed," Raney said. "Water from the river was used in an elaborate system of gravity-fed irrigation."