Drug agents in Yakima County topped their own record for this year when they pulled 30,000 marijuana plants from a vineyard south of Sunnyside.
A crew of about a dozen officers finished gathering the crop Wednesday afternoon following the arrests the night before of two men spotted tending the field. The value of the seized marijuana was estimated at $20 million.
It is the largest seizure of an outdoor marijuana crop so far this year in the state, and almost two-thirds of the 62,000 plants seized in outdoor grows this year have come from Yakima County.
Last year, Yakima County ranked among the top five counties in the state for outdoor marijuana production.
Less than two months ago, agents pulled 10,000 young marijuana plants from a cornfield east of Zillah in the state's first major outdoor seizure of the year. Last month, about 135 plants were ripped from an asparagus field in the Harrah area.
Investigators say the takedowns show that drug organizations are again using irrigated farmland -- in addition to remote forestlands, including the closed area of the Yakama Nation -- to ply their illegal trade.
The trend is repeating itself from about a decade ago, said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Rick Beghtol, supervisor for the Lower Valley task force known as Law Enforcement Against Drugs.
"They seem to be venturing into the vineyards and legitimate agricultural areas to conceal their grows," Beghtol said.
"I think they are utilizing all the resources made available to them," he added.
For the last several years, forest rangers and drug cops in helicopters have discovered many of the Pacific Northwest's outdoor growing operations.
A 65,000-plant operation found in 2004 on closed tribal land near Satus Pass set a state record at the time. Such sites often have barrels or other makeshift systems using water from nearby creeks.
But farm fields in the rural lowlands of the Yakima Valley can be particularly tempting for growers because of a ready supply of water, an important factor in producing the highest-quality marijuana.
In fact, Beghtol said, it was illegal use of water that prompted a neighboring farmer to discover the latest grow on Tuesday night.
When the neighbor saw water being diverted from his land, he went to contact two men he thought he saw cutting weeds in the 2500 block of Midvale Road, about three miles south of Sunnyside.
When he saw the men were actually cutting grape plants away to provide better light for the marijuana, the neighbor left and called police.
Officers arrested the two men as they were driving away in a small pickup, according to a report filed in Yakima County Superior Court.
The two men, a 21-year-old from Prosser and a 20-year-old from Hayward, Calif., did not discuss the grow with investigators, according to the court documents. Beghtol said he suspects they are low-level employees with ties to the Mexican drug trade.
Police at the scene said it was not immediately clear who owned the land or whether the owner was aware of marijuana plants hidden in the grape trellises.
Officers pulled about 6,000 plants Tuesday night. Restarting at 7 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through much of the day, the crew slogged through mug and endured hot temperatures as they gathered the rest of the plants.
"I think this is going to take us right down the path to a major organization," Beghtol said.
He said such cases often lead outside of Washington to Oregon and California. Investigators try to pursue the larger players as much as possible, although it can be difficult because they shield themselves.
How to tip off the drug cops
* Yakima City-County Narcotics Unit hot line (Upper Valley): 1-800-882-1119
* Law Enforcement Against Drugs (Lower Valley): 865-5900
* Washington State Marijuana Hotline: 1-800-388-GROW (4769)
Anonymous calls can be made to all three numbers. The marijuana hot line offers rewards up to $5,000.
Authorities warn that hikers or others should leave the area if they spot an outdoor marijuana-growing operation. The cultivators sometimes guard or booby trap the area.
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