TOWNSHIP 37, Maine — More than 50 law enforcement officers were in a remote area of Washington County Wednesday, harvesting marijuana plants in what could be the largest pot bust in Maine’s history.
The marijuana growing operation was discovered Tuesday, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said Wednesday.
“There are thousands of plants,” he said.
Law enforcement officials are estimating there are between 5,000 and 8,000 plants. (((( One comment said it was more then likely 50,000 to 80,000 plants, not the 5,000 to 8,000 that is stated here, someone will be pocketing))) At roughly $2,000 street value per plant, the marijuana could be worth between $10 million and $16 million or more.
The marijuana was found after a tip was left recently on the state police Troop J Web site and forwarded to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
McCausland said that a law enforcement plane flew over the site Tuesday and apparently “spooked the growers.” He said they began torching either the crop or nearby buildings or both.
Two of three buildings described as camps were burned to the ground and the third had minimal damage. About a half-acre of land was also burned.
Because of the remote location and the dry conditions, Maine Forest Service personnel and firefighters and equipment were dispatched from the Forest Protection Division Central Region Headquarters and air operations hangar at Old Town’s DeWitt Field airport to help pinpoint and put out the fire.
When officers on the ground arrived at the scene Tuesday afternoon, no one was found on the property.
No one has been arrested. The investigation into who was growing the marijuana and who owns the land continues, according to police.
Long before dawn Wednesday, investigators were headed to the remote location near Horse Lake in Washington County.
McCausland said the crop was found in Township 37, about 10 to 12 miles off Route 9 in a remote, extremely wooded and swampy area. He said there were several plots of marijuana over several square miles and two to three ways to get to the property, although some of the access routes were gated.
McCausland said none of the crop was booby-trapped and no officers were injured.
On scene Wednesday were law enforcement officers from the Maine State Police, Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Maine Warden Service, Maine Forestry Service, Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The officers spent the entire day securing evidence and harvesting the crop, which McCausland described as “5 to 8 feet tall, fully mature plants, ready for harvest.” The Fire Marshal’s Office was conducting an arson investigation at the site of the fires.
McCausland said this is likely the biggest pot bust in the history of the state with the next largest being 4,200 plants discovered in Aroostook County in the 1990s.
He said investigators will remain on the scene until the remaining crop has been harvested. It could be destroyed on site or brought to another location, he said. Some of the details of the investigation are still sketchy, he said, because the site has no Internet service and limited cell phone service.
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I know this might not seem like much to talk about for some of you but right now at this time of year up here in Maine it is happening to a lot of farmers... I have a hard time with a few things in this article,,, it of course is information that came from the cops,,, Ok, no right count on how many plants... Each plant probably is not worth $2,000 each, just a guess as I try not to have to buy my own weed so I really don't know, and we all know we can't believe what the cops tell us most of the times... Another thing is,, I wish if the cops are going to do a job would they please educate themselves first before they just think and open mouth... They said here all is ready to harvest,, I know this statement might seem like nothing to comment on but.... If they knew what they were doing they would know, it is not ready to harvest,, we still have a few more weeks for all to be perfect....lol What a waste of tax payers money,, and what a shame they wouldn't let it properly mature and then have it distributed to the medical marijuana patients,,,,There were many comments coming in on this article and as you can imagine,, most were in favor of legaization and you still have your uneducated narrow minded people.... If you got this far, Thank you for reading... Just wanted to share what is going on in my State

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ready for harvest... what a bummer after surviving the whole summer!

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Cops inflate the value and then the press repeats it cause that's the "official" word. Crap. I hate reading drivel like that. And they are so smuggly proud too. Puke.

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this $2000 rumor per plant is sure hard to kill, as if you would make such earnings per plant, if so there would be far more people be growing commercially.

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Keep the gun oiled and the thumb green!

Hey Deb.. Ya know they were not ready to come down... 4 weeks to go cause it was such a bad summer.. noting was ready or is still ready... but come on $2000.00 a plant.. more like $2000.00 a lb...... and of corse the cops don't count on all the time and money,months of planing,clones.. clones.. and more clones, it takes to put togeather a operation like that.. and all to give the masses what they want... harvest-fest will be a little drier this year... big bust on top of bad weather.. what a rough year!!! I bet you they wont get them all though.. alot of land and alot of plants.. and you know there total count is blown out of wack.. got a vote coming up in Maine in Nov. Reguarding our medical laws.. and big bust help those who oppose it...

Hey Dank, good to have you post on this,,, I keep thinking about this, like you said,, all that work to have it gone,, They did try and burn some of it so to leave no evidence and to probably hope the law didn't get all they wanted,,,, When things like this happen each year I get such a rush just thinking what those guys and maybe gals were feeling when they knew they had to get out of there and quick,, I am so glad they got away,, I hope they are long gone.. They had no weapons, they had no booby traps, they were not looking to have a war,, Man I can't imagine

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Here is the update on this sad story,, What saddens me to no end is knowing all of this high grade weed could of helped save lives, Can you imagine the cancer patients that are out there that need our help and the authority are burning it up, Probably going home and burning a few too......1253844916_83a5.jpg



TOWNSHIP 37, Maine — More than 60 law enforcement officers continued Thursday to harvest massive, high-quality marijuana plants at a remote location in Washington County. Not only is the seizure the largest in Maine’s history, the multimillion-dollar operation was the first of its kind seen in the state, according to drug enforcement officials.
The pot plantation was discovered Tuesday when a law enforcement plane scoured the area after Maine State Police Troop J received a tip on its Web site.
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Director Roy McKinney, who was on site Thursday, said the size, scope and detail of the farming operation was quite surprising.
“We have never seen this type of operation in Maine before,” he said.
No one had been arrested as of Thursday and McKinney would not identify who owns the land.
He confirmed that it was a plantation or farm, where caretakers of the crop lived 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “These are the types of operations we see on the West Coast. In Maine, when marijuana is grown in remote locations, someone usually hikes in and checks it periodically. These growers were living right here.”
The marijuana was so well cultivated, he said, that the value of the bud, the most prized part of the plant, is higher than normal.
“This was a very sophisticated operation,” McKinney said. “There was a tremendous amount of effort and energy put into this, including extensive pruning to develop the buds. This operation was given a lot of thought.”
He said MDEA uses $2,000 per plant as the rule of thumb for street value, but since these plants’ buds are so developed, McKinney said they would likely be worth $3,000 or more each. More than $1.5 million worth of plants — 500 — were harvested Wednesday by law enforcement.
Several thousand more plants — about $9 million worth — were harvested by midafternoon Thursday. A final count will not be available until all the plants are removed, likely late Friday.
When the plane discovered the farm Tuesday, the growers on site apparently began burning several of what McKinney described as bunkhouses. By the time law enforcement on the ground arrived at the farm, no one was found.
McKinney said two additional buildings were discovered Thursday.
The site, in Township 37, is about 10 miles off Route 9 in Wesley, covering several square miles of woods and swamps. The Salvation Army has set up their canteen on site to feed the law enforcement contingent, which McKinney said was both appreciated and invaluable.
In addition to Maine and federal DEA agents, officers at the site come from the State Fire Marshal’s Office, Maine State Police, Maine Game Wardens, Maine Forest Service, Washington County Sheriff's Office, and U.S. Border Patrol.
McKinney said teams of officers are working in very difficult terrain, harvesting the pot in bundles of 100 and walking through a boggy, swampy area to an access road where the plants are secured.
One garden is 100 yards from the access road while the second garden is more than 500 yards away. “This is not easy terrain,” he said.
McKinney said that Wednesday was devoted to the crime scene and securing and seeking evidence, while Thursday's action shifted to eradication of the plants.
Officers will continue working on site today and once the harvest is completed, McKinney said the plants will be destroyed on site.

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Damned cops are so thick around here ya can't stir 'em with a stick. Not just the local variety either! You can tell it's OD harvest season. Also... Damn cops are pulling folks over for anything & everything! Got dogs out sniffing cars everywhere too!!!

Scuttlebutt around here is some of the LEO are using that F.L.I.R. (forward-looking-infra-red) on their cars (Not just the choppers.) to spot small time grow ops too. They can zoom in on your heat signatures.

Now, "supposedly" they can't do that... 4th amendment & all, but they are doing it. Spying on our houses! Constitution be damned.
Not to use it to kick in your door right away, but to watch you closer. They pick up the heat sig from our grow lights & know who's doing what & they lay in wait for you to do something that gives them the excuse to use their "authority" to come kicking in your door.

Be sure to mask yourselves (odor & light) well & watch what you put in the trash!!! They can search your trash without a warrant.

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What gives a government the right to outlaw nature?

War is when the government tells you who the bad guy is.
Revolution is when you decide that for yourself.
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Hey Deb...so so so sad .. so much time and effort wasted .. I feel for those people so.. but at the same time this IS Maine 7000+ plants and your living at the spot .. 3 years ago, a friend and I thought it would be a good idea to put a little over 120 clones on 9+ acres. in patches of 6 to 8.. chopper came, then came the coppers.. took it all away..and we were tring to be smart about it.. I saw the jpeg of there spot..they were asking for trubble... but yet again so sad!!!!!

Yes it is sad, but like you said,, not too cool to be doing it all in one area,, The smart ones that have been doing it for generations have many different spots that they have to travel to, hard work, but if you love it you don't mind.. This job had to have been known of by what I would say most of the whole town.. I hope the one who might of ratted get his in return some how... In these Maine small towns it is the main source of income for a lot of people, and the town and people know who it is, it is excepted by most and ignored by all... I love those small towns....

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