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by ANGELA KOCHERGA
WFAA
Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:14 PM
BAJA CALIFORNIA, Mexico — Soldiers in Mexico are preparing to set fire to the largest marijuana plantation ever discovered in that country.It stretches across 300 acres, and soldiers say they will need about two weeks to destroy the fields.
Authorities say at least 100 farm workers tended the massive plantation, which is the size of about 225 football fields.
The pot plants are valued at $160 million, and marijuana is the biggest illegal cash crop for drug cartels in Mexico.
"It's estimated that 95 percent of marijuana that comes into the U.S. comes in through the Mexico and Central America corridor," said Diana Apodaca of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in El Paso.
Marijuana busts on the border are down slightly from this time last year.
"We're looking for drugs, but the amount of pot seized in San Diego has more than tripled, and there's a spike in Texas in the Rio Grande Valley," Apodaca said.
Some of the drugs are making it beyond the border. Law enforcement agencies near Houston discovered 1,700 pounds of pot hidden in a shipment of household items in an 18-wheeler.
"It's being grown in almost every state in Mexico, so therefore there's always some available," Apodaca said.
Authorities in Mexico say the 300 acres of plants in Baja California were almost ready to harvest.
E-mail akocherga@belo.com
