by Peter Lopez
MENDOTA, Calif. (FOX26) — Fresno County Sheriff’s undercover detectives have provided an update on the huge pot farm raid in Mendota on Friday, May 21.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, there were a total of 21,192 plants – as opposed to the originally estimated 50,000. Overall, the Sheriff’s Office hauled away 25 tons of illegal marijuana.
The pot farm raid took place around 6 a.m. Friday with no one on the property. The Sheriff’s Office called it “the most elaborate marijuana grow” they’ve ever seen in their careers.
20 greenhouses were found on location, along with plenty of living quarters – which could have housed up to 15 people. They also found one handgun and one shotgun.
“The sophistication level and the complexity of the build, really expensive, basically it was a greenhouse within a greenhouse,” said an anonymous Narcotics Unit Sergeant. “The water was plumbed well, it was done really well, they expended quite a bit of money and time on this project.”
According to the sergeant, those involved in the illegal pot farm will only face misdemeanor charges as a result of Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis use for adults in 2014. The punishment in the illegal pot farm raid will be the same for someone who cultivates more than six marijuana plants.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s undercover detectives have yet to make an arrest.
