HOPEWELL — A sweep of the township by a National Guard helicopter team Wednesday revealed a hidden marijuana crop of about 20 plants, and three teenagers were arrested, police said.

“Two are linked with just two of the plants. The third is connected to all the rest,” Lt. Lance Maloney said today.

Police withheld the names of the suspects, who are juveniles, and the location of their illegal garden.

A 17-year-old man from Pennington and a 17-year-old woman from Hopewell Township were arrested and charged with simple possession of more than 50 grams of marijuana.

The third, a 17-year-old man from Hopewell Township, was charged with the possession of over 50 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

The arrests of the three teenagers came hours before the military helicopter performed its search of the township, police said in a news release.

Officer Christopher Vaccarino made the arrests around 6 a.m. Wednesday, the release said. Chief George Meyer said the helicopter started its search around 9 a.m.

Maloney said the added airpower used in the investigation was free for the asking.

“The township doesn’t suffer any kind of expense on that,” he said. “We asked them and they helped us out.”

A call to the National Guard about how much the two-hour flight cost was not immediately returned.

Previous coverage:

• Helicopter sweeps Hopewell Township for marijuana farms

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