In this Sept. 23, 2009 photo released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, a fire set by fleeing workers burns in a forest where authorities seized $9 million worth of marijuana in Township 37, Maine. Three men convicted in the enterprise that produced one of the biggest marijuana seizures in state history were sentenced ranging from 5-14 years Thursday, April 21, 2016, in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP) (The Associated Press)
TOWNSHIP 37, Maine – Six years ago, there was more than logging going on in the wilderness in eastern Maine. Hidden from view and protected by gates, a sophisticated marijuana-growing operation featured a warehouse, bunkhouses, migrant workers — and $9 million worth of marijuana.
It was camouflaged so well that a game warden rode right past it the day before law enforcement officials finally spotted it using aircraft on Sept. 22, 2009.
Three men convicted in the enterprise that produced one of the biggest marijuana seizures in Maine history were being sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bangor. They were convicted by a federal jury in January 2014.
Malcolm French, of Enfield, and Rodney Russell, of South Thomaston, face at least 10 years in prison for charges including manufacturing drugs and harboring workers who were in the country illegally. Kendall Chase, of Bradford, faced a lesser sentence for conspiracy.
The marijuana operation was concealed in the woods and bogs in rural Washington County at the nation's eastern tip. Drug agents found nearly 3,000 plants, some as tall as 8 feet, along with 40 pounds of processed marijuana, all valued at $9 million.
Special Agent Jonathan Richards of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency said he'd seen nothing like it in his 37-year career in law enforcement.
There were two bunkhouses for workers and a building equipped with a kitchen and a shower with hot water, all powered by propane, Richards said. A swampy area provided a clearing for sunshine and an abundant supply of water for the plants, which grew in peat moss plots surrounded by wire, he said. There were seven connected buildings with propane heaters for storing and drying the plants, he said.
The site couldn't be reached by rough logging roads cut through the woods of Township 37, and locked gates required a 2-mile trek to reach the secluded operation.
"When they put this together, there was clearly a great deal of planning that went into it. They didn't all of a sudden start growing marijuana. They thought it out, planned the structures and used natural cover to keep it hidden," Richards said.
Thursday's sentencing hearing will mark the end of a criminal proceeding that dragged on for years.
A Mexican man accused of overseeing the operation pleaded guilty in 2013, and another man also pleaded guilty a year later. Faced with testifying before a grand jury, another man implicated in the operation killed himself in 2011.
In February, the judge accepted a forfeiture agreement in which Haynes Timber, which was owned by French and his wife, was fined $100,000. French's wife paid $1.5 million under the agreement in which she retained 22,000 acres comprising Township 37 while agreeing not to contest the forfeiture of two other properties.
Richards said he was happy to put the matter to a rest. "This has been my life for six years," he said. "It's good to have it closed. It's good for everybody."
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Follow David Sharp on Twitter at https://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-sharp.
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