LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – Sheriff’s deputies are searching for the people responsible for growing thousands of marijuana plants northeast of Hardin following the county’s largest pot raid in recent memory.
Investigators believe the massive operation is linked to Mexican drug cartels – although they’re not sure which one.
"They’re branching out," said Louis Guthrie, the head of the narcotics division of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. "It’s very dangerous for the cartel to bring drugs across the border. If they can grow it here and then distribute from here, their loads are somewhat safer and especially if they’re doing it in rural America."
Guthrie said the street value of the roughly 2,000 marijuana plants seized is $4-6 million. Authorities found sophisticated equipment on the property, including several irrigation ponds, lookout stations and drying facilities.
Still, some experts who study the Mexican drug trade are skeptical that the growers were closely tied to the violent cartels.
"This would be somewhat unusual behavior by the cartels," said Professor Mark Jones of Rice University. "Generally they tend to produce in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America and then export to the United States. They usually don’t set up operations here because of the risk involved."
No arrests have been made. While investigators think at least five people ran the growing operation, they ran off before the bust on Tuesday.
Detectives said they were checking out leads in the Pasadena area, where they believe at least one of the growers may be hiding. They’re also looking into who owned the property, although some of the plants were planted on adjacent land whose owner was not involved in the illegal activity, investigators said.
Federal officials are also working this case.
If sheriff’s deputies are right, the Mexican drug trade is hitting way too close to home for Bob Brandt. He lives nearby and said he had no idea what his neighbors were doing.
"It’s kind of scary, to tell you the truth," Brandt said. "Think I’ll keep my doors locked from now on."
