A helpful hiker who stumbled upon thousands of marijuana plants growing amongst the trees on Crown land led police to the seizure of about $11 million worth of weed.
The plants were growing near the Skuhun Creek forest service road off of Highway 8, about 60 kilometres west of Merritt.
Police busted the grow-op Friday, and approximately 14,000 ready to be harvested plants located in several plots were seized and destroyed over two days with the assistance of the Merritt Fire Rescue Department.
In a press release Const. Tracy Dunsmore said the set up was very sophisticated for an outdoor grow operation and included soil cultivation and irrigation. The estimated street value of the plants is $10-12 million.
Police have no leads as to the identity of the culprit or culprits who grew the marijuana at these sites.
No charges have been laid at this time and the file is still under investigation.
One of several plots of marijuana plants that were found in the forest about 60 kilometres west of Merritt and destroyed over the weekend by police.
Information on these or any other crimes can be reported to Merritt RCMP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
