Officials harvest $1 million pot 'forest'

More than 3,000 marijuana plants, with a street value of up to $1 million, were removed recently from a remote area of Esmeralda County near the Nevada-California border.

Officers from the Nevada Department of Public Safety-Investigation Division, working with deputies from the Esmeralda County Sheriff's Office, took out the plants Aug. 15..

A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety said the marijuana field was discovered by a hiker who notified deputies.

"Investigators noted a sophisticated irrigation system for the marijuana plants, with water coming from a nearby stream," said department spokesman Dan Burns. "The remote location and complexity of the marijuana field suggests the grower or growers had invested considerable resources into the operation. The street value of the marijuana seized is estimated between $800,000 and $1 million."

"We are drawing plenty of satisfaction knowing these drugs will not be sold or used in Nevada or anywhere else," said Esmeralda County Sheriff Kenneth Elgan.

Nevada Department of Public Safety Director Jerry Hafen agreed.

"Whether it is meth, prescription drug diversion, or remote marijuana fields in the Nevada wilderness, our department is committed to fight the flow of illegal drugs anywhere in Nevada," he said.

Hafen also praised the level of state and local law enforcement cooperation in this case,

No arrests have been made, but the investigation is continuing. The plants are to be destroyed.