US police have used Google Earth satellite imagery to identify illegal rows of marijuana plants being cultivated by a drug farmer.

Authorities in Oregon used an aircraft to verify the satellite information taken in June, which showed dozens of plants in neat rows. Curtis Croft was discovered to be allegedly growing three times as many plants as he was allowed to propagate by law for medical purposes.

Croft was registered to grow medical marijuana for five people, which amounts to 30 mature plants, but police raid in September seized 94 plants, according to authorities.

Croft was arraigned on drug charges last week and released.

This isn't the first time Google Earth's satellite imagery has been used to find drug farms: in 2009 Swiss authorities used satellite photos from the free service to identify a large plantation of marijuana hidden within a cornfield.

• In June, Google Earth images revealed another North Korean prison camp