By MICHELLE ROBERTS
Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX- Authorities have uncovered a mile (1 1/2-kilometer)-long marijuana farm running through a remote, heavily forested ravine in the Coconino National Forest.
The field included “thousands and thousands and thousands” of plants, though it was unclear exactly how many, said Sgt. Mike Johnson of the Gila County Sheriff’s Office.
Another law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, estimated there could be more than 100,000 plants.
Members of the Gila County Narcotics Enforcement Task Force had been investigating and doing surveillance since July on the farm north of Strawberry on the southernmost part of Coconino National Forest.
A man was seen tending the plants and camping in the garden in July and August, according to court paperwork released Tuesday.
Last week, another man was spotted in the garden, and on Monday, two others were seen there. The men, who were heavily armed, were confronted by law enforcement and arrested.
Three of them admitted they had been paid to tend the marijuana plants. All were illegal immigrants, according to paperwork filed with U.S. District Court in Flagstaff. The men were identified in federal court paperwork as Jesus Castillo Malendrez, Gerardo Manzo Pulido, Oscar Nunez Medina and David Valencia Gonzalez. Castillo, Manzo and Valencia are from Mexico.
The investigation involved numerous agencies, but most were referring calls to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which refused to answer questions about the size and scope of the farm until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.