PIERCE COUNTY, Ga. — Four people were arrested and more than 11,000 marijuana plants were seized in “the largest seizure of drugs from an indoor growing operation in Pierce County history,” according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
Steve Gehlbach, reporter for Action News Jax sister station WSB in Atlanta, attended a news conference on Tuesday where officials unveiled details about the seizure.
“It was a very sophisticated operation,” Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper said.
“We estimated the street value to be $22.3 million,” Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett said.
WSB reports that the four people arrested include three men and one woman, all Chinese nationals. Officials believe the group started the marijuana-growing operation in Pierce County sometime in 2022 with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in the facility.
The department and Pierce County Sheriff’s Office launched the investigation about a month ago after an undercover deputy learned the facility was a fish farm. But when they raided the place on Friday, they quickly found that was only a cover.
PCSO said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency are now involved in the investigation.
