Giant Marijuana Farm Discovered In Chicago

A giant marijuana farm was discovered in Chicago, giving new meaning to the phrase urban farming, which is usually thought of as a niche business for high-end produce.

Police in a helicopter discovered what could be the city’s largest outdoor pot farm in history, reports ABC News. The plants were set in rows and covered an area the size of two football fields.

There were roughly 1,500 plants at the outdoor marijuana farm, averaging six-feet tall (think Christmas tree-size), which were growing amidst heavy brush in an industrial area on Chicago’s south side. Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy stated during a press conference on Wednesday:

“This would not be visible from the street. It’s surrounded by a huge field that you wouldn’t see anywhere [but] from the air.”

The hidden marijuana farm, which would have been harvested in the next few weeks, was estimated to be worth between $7 million and $10 million. Not only could it be the city’s largest marijuana farm, but the plants could also be the tallest that Chicago police have ever seen. Nick Roti, head of the Chicago Police Organized Crime Bureau, stated:

“Usually you see a marijuana plant that’s 3-feet high. These resemble plants that you’d see out in California, running anywhere from 4-foot to 8-foot high.”

The New York Daily News notes that cops also found a makeshift campsite near the field, which they believe was used by the growers or someone who was guarding the field. Cook County Sheriff’s Department Officer Edward Graney, the co-pilot of the chopper that found the plants, stated:

“We had the right altitude, the right angle, the right sunlight, and I just happened to be glancing down, saw the hole in the tree line, saw what appeared to be maybe five plants.”

Sanitation crews were spending Wednesday cutting down the massive marijuana farm, transferring the illegal cannabis to a plant where it will be burned.