Police destroy huge pot grow in Elmore Co.

08:41 AM PDT on Friday, August 1, 2008

By Scott Evans / KTVB News

Mike Perry/KTVB

Police seized nearly $10 million worth of marijuana in Boise County

MOUNTAIN HOME, IDAHO - Police busted a $9 million pot ring in Elmore County Thursday, confiscating nearly 5,000 plants and arresting two illegal immigrants.

Several agencies including the Elmore County Sheriff's Office watched the operation for several weeks before they took action and seized it.

Some people fishing on Rattlesnake Creek between the City of Prairie and the middle fork of the Boise River spotted the grow.

The fishermen notified the U.S. Forest Service, who worked with Elmore County and the Drug Enforcement Agency to coordinate the raid.

"With all these agencies we had enough people not only to come in from three different areas, four different areas actually, we were able to spread out, because there was enough of us to where they couldn't run in between us," said Elmore County Sheriff Rick Layher.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Sigifredo Lopez Garcia, 28, and Antelmo Ramires, 29. Both are illegal immigrants. The two men have not yet been charged.

Deputies dug a hole in the ground at the site of the grow and threw all the plants in and dowsed them with fuel.

Layher says deputies dug up 4,800 plants which the DEA says are valued at $2,000 per plant – a total value of $9.6 million on the street.

Layher says harvest time is coming up and grows are popping up across the northwest.

"We're at the peak,â€