State officials recovered more than 2,500 marijuana plants at a Parsonfield residence on Friday morning.
Maine State Police officials and drug enforcement officials with United States homeland security officials execute a search warrant at 424 Maplecrest Road at around 8:45 a.m., and found evidence that a large-scale marijuana growing operation was being conducted, according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss.
When officials entered the residence, they found unsafe living conditions, fire hazards and pesticides, alongside the numerous marijuana plants, according to state police. The plants were seized by officials and destroyed.
No arrests were made on Friday morning, according to Moss. Friday’s bust is just the latest in a string of illegal grow sites that have been dismantled by Maine officials.
A leaked federal government memo, first obtained by the conservative Daily Caller and published last August, estimated that Maine had as many as 270 large-scale illegal marijuana grows connected to organized crime groups in China. The memo’s authors noted that the money may be used to further crime in the U.S. or be sent back to China. These operations generate an estimated $4.37 billion in revenue.
Since the beginning of the new year, police have been active in busting these large operations, which have been found all over rural Maine, from Brownville, Guilford, Milo and Sangerville in Piscataquis County, to Corinna, Eddington, Holden and Passadumkeag in Penobscot County, to Turner in Androscoggin County, to Canaan, Cornville, Harmony, Madison, Mercer, Norridgewock, Ripley, Skowhegan, Solon and St. Albans in Somerset County, to Jay in Franklin County, to Belgrade, China, Chelsea, Farmingdale and Manchester in Kennebec County, to Jefferson and Whitefield in Lincoln County, to Belmont and Freedom in Waldo County.
These operations received greater scrutiny after the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office found an illegal marijuana grow house in Carmel, where police seized 3,400 plants and 111 pounds of processed marijuana in late June 2023. As the year dragged on, police uncovered other large illegal marijuana operations in Dexter, Wilton, Machias and other communities.
BDN reporter Chris Burns contributed to this report.
