Alleged Marijuana Megafarm Ringleader and Crew Arrested

BCI and local law enforcement clear fields of thousands of plants



(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray will be joined by Logan County Sheriff Andrew Smith; Muskingum County Sheriff Matthew Lutz; Kenneth L. Parker, Drug Task Force Chief, Office of Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tom Harter, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Cleveland Office to announce the bust of a large-scale marijuana growing operation.



This bust involves multiple arrests, multiple marijuana growing locations and thousands of marijuana plants, as well as investigation of a metropolitan location believed to be involved in the operation. Investigators report this marijuana operation is one of an increasing number allegedly connected to Mexican nationals who are cultivating and trafficking marijuana in Ohio. Attorney General Cordray and his office's Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) have found several marijuana operations of this sort in recent weeks, as BCI's Outdoor Marijuana Eradication program seized more marijuana plants in six weeks than in all of 2009.