Corvallis Gazette-Times
TUCSON, Arizona -- A tip from a hiker who stumbled across some interesting-looking plants in the Prescott National Forest on Wednesday led to the discovery of a large marijuana farm, the sixth pot farm found in an Arizona national forest this year.
Authorities say that so far at least 1,000 pot plants have been pulled from the field near Paulden. Four marijuana plots have been found on the Tonto National Forest and one on the Coconino, said Jim Payne, Southwest regional spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. Those earlier busts netted about 100,000 marijuana plants, he said.
The Prescott discovery "wasn't unexpected,'' said Lt. James Jarrell, who heads the Yavapai County sheriff's special crimes section. "This is generally known as the general harvest time for this part of the state.''
Deputies arrested Acejo Rodriguez-Martinez, 28, of Los Angeles, at the site on Thursday. Authorities were looking for eight other pot-plot caretakers. All nine are believed to be illegal immigrants, Jarrell said.
Posted by Suzanne at September 24, 2005