Authorities returning this morning to a Mission Viejo marijuana field they discovered Tuesday find many more plants with a value of $12.5 million.
City News Service

MISSION VIEJO â?? Deputies who returned today to a marijuana farm near O'Neill Regional Park found thousands more plants, bringing the total to between 18,000 and 20,000 plants worth $12.5 million, authorities said.

An Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopter crew made the initial find of 3,500 plants worth about $2.5 million around 3 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Sunrise Court and Maiden Lane in Mission Viejo, said the department's Jim Amormino.

They remained in the area until it got dark, and went back this morning and found the additional plants, Amormino said.

"This one's unusual because it's fairly close to a residential area," Amormino said, adding that the area is at a dead-end roadway inside a gated community.

"This is probably one of the biggest (pot farms) we've found," he added.

The latest find comes on the heels of 3,800 plants found two weeks ago.

This "certainly puts a large dent in the marijuana supply," Amormino said Tuesday.

Like the last marijuana farm discovered, the latest farm had a sophisticated irrigation system, Amormino said.

No suspects were taken into custody.

Deputies continued efforts to remove the marijuana, which will be destroyed, he said.
Dro_Princess Reviewed by Dro_Princess on . $12.5 million pot bust in O.C. 9/20/06 Authorities returning this morning to a Mission Viejo marijuana field they discovered Tuesday find many more plants with a value of $12.5 million. City News Service MISSION VIEJO â?? Deputies who returned today to a marijuana farm near O'Neill Regional Park found thousands more plants, bringing the total to between 18,000 and 20,000 plants worth $12.5 million, authorities said. An Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopter crew made the initial find of 3,500 plants worth about $2.5 Rating: 5