Mexican Federal Authorities’ have arrested 58 people in connection to the nearly 300 acre mega-marihuana-field found in Baja California, considered one of the largest in Mexico’s history.
Based on the pictures published by Federal Agencies, all of those arrested are men who were arrested by military in the small town of El Rosario, south of Ensenada, and will remain in custody for at least 40 days.
The quiet town of Rosario was the closest one to the field, located 93 miles South of San Quintin, just 1.2 miles off the main Cross-peninsula Road going from Ensenada to Guerrero Negro.
General Alfonso Duarte Mújica, head of military operations in Baja, believes that at least 60 people where necessary for the operation of the 300 acre “ranch” that could yield close to 120 tons of pot, with a market value of 163 million dollars.
“I believe this was their first sow and harvest, because the largest plants are the right size but not yet seeding” he explained as he walked along the immense emerald green fields.
The field has two water wells and was well organized into different growing stages, from one foot tall plants to 6 or 7 foot plants closet o harvest.
Baja California governor José Guadalupe Osuna Millán, said he expects narco-forces to react against the authorities for the huge financial blow they dealt, so security will be tight in rural areas across the state.
A week after the field was found, 472 soldiers were taken to the field to destroy the marijuana, that according to authorities were hard to find due to the dark mesh that covered the field making it difficult to see from the air.
Osuna said once this was done, he will ask federal authorities to donate the entire infrastructure left by the narco-traffickers so it can be used to grow other plants, including tomatoes and strawberries, both good crops for hot and dry weather.
In the last 10 months, Baja California has seized at least 250 tons of the marihuana and despite the frontal “war” on drugs, Mexico is still considered a major pot producer by the UN.
And for all of those wondering, how come they took so long to find a 300 acre field? This is not only happening in Baja but in California as well, and is becoming a growing trend as narcos hope to lower costs of transportation to the consumer.
On July 13, just 90 miles from LA, federal agents found close to 68 thousand marihuana plants grown at Los Padres National Park, worth around 205 million dollars.
Sheriff Officers found camping tents, sleeping bags, a watering system and various weapons, along with leftover meat from deer and other animals indicating the people in charge of the field where hunting for food.
These plants, -as well as the ones found in Baja-, were close to being ready for harvest.
The operation is part of an initiative called CAMP, a multi agency campaign to eradicate growing fields. In 2010 4.3 million plants were detected with a market value of $1,720 million dollars.
Three out of every four plants found by CAMP agents was planted on National Parks and according to CAMP data, the Mexican Cartels are behind most of the marihuana growing efforts in California. An activity that has grown 258% between 2006 and 2010.
The increase has to do with rainy winters that make the ground more fertile, but also with a more aggressive approach by the authorities that are now taking a closer look at national parks and unpopulated areas across the state.
