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Mexico Finds Biggest Ever Marijuana Farm

MEXICO / 15 JUL 2011 BY PATRICK CORCORAN EN

The Mexican Army found a 120-hectare plot used for growing marijuana in north Mexico, the largest such plantation ever discovered in the country.

The plantation, equivalent to almost 300 acres, was found near Rosario, a small town in Baja California, roughly 225 miles south of the border, on Thursday.

A spokesman said that the marijuana crops were camouflaged and interspersed with tomatoes plants, to make it harder to discover.

The largest marijuana farm previously discovered was a 105-hectare plot of land in southern Chihuahua, which authorities found in 2005.

Six people were arrested in the recent operation, but officials estimated that up to 50 people likely worked at the illicit farm. They provided no information about who owned the farm, but the Sinaloa Cartel and the remnants of the Tijuana Cartel (also known as the Arellano Felix Organization) both operate in the region.

Baja California has earned much attention for marijuana production in recent months, particularly with the seizure of 134 tons of the drug in Tijuana in late 2010.

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