Cartel-connected pot farms rise up from rugged Texas backwoods

These marijuana plants are among 30,300 discovered on a covert farm in Polk County and then confiscated and destroyed. No one has been arrested in connection with the farm, one of the largest ever found in Texas. less These marijuana plants are among 30,300 discovered on a covert farm in Polk County and then confiscated and destroyed. No one has been arrested in connection with the farm, one of the largest ever found in ... more Photo: Polk County Sheriff's Office Photo: Polk County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Cartel-connected pot farms rise up from rugged Texas backwoods 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Multimillion-dollar marijuana fields hide in the thick Texas backwoods, acres of pot plants woven through forests of pine and oak trees - all but invisible from the air.

Mexican drug-trafficking organizations are believed to be behind the secret farms springing up across the Texas, the latest discovered in Polk County, where more than 30,300 mature plants - most of them five to eight feet tall - were spread over hundreds of acres.

It is believed to be the largest pot farm ever found in Texas, though no one has been arrested.

All told, 106,286 cultivated outdoor marijuana plants were discovered in Texas last year, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. That places Texas among the top states for pot farms, but far behind the nation's top spot, California.

Authorities have seen the pattern repeatedly, with busts made not just in Polk County, but in Liberty County, where a large pot growing operation was discovered last year, and a few weeks ago in Montgomery County.

Loads covertly grown on Texas soil by Mexican organizations avoid the risks of trying to sneak past U.S.-Mexico border guards as well as law enforcement on roads leading to the interior of the United States.

"They are here, and the reason is very simple: They are not taking a chance with getting it seized at the checkpoints," said Javier Pena, head of the DEA's Houston Division, which reaches to the border.

Campsites well-hidden

The farms apparently operate in Texas much in the same way that they do in Mexico. Workers, often hardy country men from Mexico, live for weeks or months in campsites, where they use tents covered with nets and foliage.

They use backpacks to walk through fields and spray fertilizer and growing chemicals, and have mapped out escape routes. There are no showers or toilets. Bars of soap found in Polk County indicate workers bathed in the creek.

Narco farmers are often careful not to slice away natural vegetation, apart from what is needed to let sunlight in, to hide their positions. They count on the green of marijuana leaves and other plants to blend so they cannot be easily spotted by aircraft, officials said.

"They are not just where you can drive up a vehicle," said Sgt. Howard Smith of the Polk County Sheriff's Office. "They pack everything in."

Authorities in Polk County were tipped off by a fisherman on Big Sandy Creek, where the pot farm drew water.

Camouflaged deputies and Texas Department of Public Safety officers burrowed into the woods with the chiggers, mosquitoes and ticks.

The pot farmers already had fled just before the group of 70 raided the area, authorities said, perhaps spooked by fishermen, the officers, or a military helicopter that had recently flown circles over the area while escorting a highway convoy.

In order to get trucks and all-terrain vehicles to the Polk County farm after the raid, bulldozers were brought in to clear roadways through the trees and brush.

Hunters, hikers warned

The Polk County investigation is ongoing, said authorities, who wouldn't speculate on whether local residents knew about the marijuana-growing operation. Officials don't know who, specifically, is responsible for the farm.

Two people were arrested in connection with the Liberty County farm.

Capt. Rex Evans, of the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, said hidden farms can be very tough to spot, even for the trained eye.

"We have literally hung out of helicopters at tree-top level," Evans said.

Hunters, fisherman and hikers have been advised to be careful about stumbling across marijuana farms, he said.

Anthony Scott, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA's Houston Division, said having Mexican organizations operating pot farms in Texas is a relatively new development.

"This is somewhat of a recent phenomenon that we are seeing," Scott said. "Mexicans are actually tending these fields."

He said that while no one was arrested in the Polk County raid, the pot farm there is believed to be linked to Mexico.

"Just from the sophistication, these are probably folks who have done it before and know how to do it," Scott said. "With all the intelligence we gather … we trace it back to the roots to see who was totally responsible for it."

Crop can be lucrative

A mature pot plant yields one pound of pot each harvest. Two harvests a year for outdoor plants are common.

A pound sells for $300 to $400, Scott said. At that rate, the Polk County field could bring in $18 million or more each year.

"It is another reminder that it is an issue everywhere - big cities, little towns, anywhere in the country," Polk County Judge John Thompson said. "And it is something we have to constantly be on guard for - the production, selling, and ultimately the use."

dane.schiller@chron.com twitter.com/daneschiller