Hidden under black netting in the remote Mexican desert... the largest ever marijuana plantation (even with toilets for the workers)

Discovery comes as Mexico drug violence takes upswing

More than 40,000 people have died in drug violence in Mexico since late 2006.



Mexican soldiers discovered the largest marijuana plantation in the country's history, hidden under black cloth in the middle of the desert.



The 300-acre plantation is four times larger than the previous record discovery by authorities and workers had even installed toilet facilities, the Defence Department said.

The towering pot plants sheltered under black screen-cloth in a huge square on the floor of the Baja California desert, more than 150 miles south of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego.

Hidden: This desert plantation looks innocent enough but underneath the black tarpaulin was the largest marijuana farm in Mexico's history A house and facilities sit uncovered at one end of the massive plantation

Army general Alfonso Duarte said the screening, which is often used by regular farmers to protect crops from too much sun or heat, made it difficult to smell what was growing underneath.

It was only when soldiers on the ground reached the isolated area on Tuesday that they found thousands of pot plants as high as 2.5 meter tall.



ESCALATING DRUG VIOLENCE IN MEXICO

More than 40,000 people have died in drug violence in Mexico since late 2006.

Over 9,300 people have been gunned down in Ciudad Juarez alone since early 2008 when the rival Juarez and Sinaloa cartels began an all-out war for rich trafficking routes. That conflict has unleashed further violence as local gangs battle over street corner drug rackets, and turn to kidnapping and extortion. The Mexican military and federal police sent to curb the mayhem are also blamed by many residents for killings and other abuses.



The average height of the plants was about 1.5 yards (meters).



'We estimate that in this area, approximately 60 people were working. When they saw the military personnel, they fled,' Gen Duarte told reporters.

A few were later reportedly detained at a nearby roadblock, but he added no arrests were made at the scene.

He said traffickers could have harvested about 120 tons of marijuana from the plantation, worth about 1.8 billion pesos or about $160 million.

The discovery comes as drug related violence in Mexico's troubled border states has taken a dramatic upswing over the last few months.

Last Friday At least 17 people were killed in a bar massacre night in the northern Mexico city of Monterrey when riflemen opened fire on bystanders and staff.

Consequence: A Mexican army soldier takes a photo of a dead man after a gun battle between army soldiers and gunmen in the northern city of Monterrey

Busted: Federal Police agents present Jesus Enrique Aguilar, alias 'El Mamito'. Police believe Aguilar is connected with the killing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent

Soldiers walk through the biggest marijuana plantation found in Mexico in San Quintin And on Monday 10 decapitated bodies were found in the northern Mexican city of Torreon. The bodies were dumped in the back of a truck with their heads scattered across the city. Authorities said the killers left a message directed at another gang.

The cartels have also become more brazen in the face of ongoing efforts by the Mexican army to curb their operations. Yesterday, two separate raids by Mexican government special forces left nine gunmen dead. Raids on a Monterrey weapons training ground left four dead, while five more were killed after an SUV carrying members of another cartel opened fire on troops in the town of Cadereyta. Monterrey, a major industrial hub, has seen a spike of violence since the Gulf and Zeta cartels began fighting for control of drug traffic there two years ago. On Thursday Mexican journalist Armando Rodriguez, renowned for his coverage of gangland slayings in his hometown of Ciudad Juarez, lay dead in a casket, shot by suspected cartel hitmen. As his colleague Jorge Luis Aguirre drove to the funeral home in the dismal border city to pay his last respects, his cell phone rang. The husky voice delivered a chilling warning: 'You're next.' Mexican soldiers discovered the plantation in a remote desert surrounded by cactuses, Soldiers discovered toilets on the plantation

Soldiers stand guard at the biggest marijuana plantation found in Mexico

'I left Ciudad Juarez in panic the same day,' said Aguirre, the former editor of news website La Polaka.

The newsman joined a growing number of Mexicans fleeing raging drug cartel violence in and around Ciudad Juarez to begin a long-shot bid for political asylum next door in the United States.

Video of the plantation showed a sophisticated system of piped-in irrigation to support the plants, which Gen Duarte said was fed by two wells.

The plantation also included some wooden outbuildings, presumably for use by people caring for the plants.

Troops will destroy the fields by burning them, Duarte said.

While it's unknown how much of Mexican drug cartels' income comes from marijuana, recent discoveries suggest it remains a large-scale trade.

Guarded: the plantation is now under heavy protection in case any of the cartel return The house and facilities at the far right are dwarfed by the size of the crop

Last October, Mexican authorities made their largest-ever seizure of marijuana packaged for sale, a record 148 tons (134 metric tons) found in a number of tractor trailers and houses in Tijuana.

They appeared to make up a major distribution center traced directly to Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, Mexico's most-wanted fugitive, who has expanded the reach of his Sinaloa cartel along the U.S.-Mexico border since escaping from prison in 2001.

In November, U.S. and Mexican investigators found two long, sophisticated tunnels under the border between Baja California and California, along with more than 40 tons of marijuana in and around the tunnels.

An army helicopter casts a shadow over parts of the biggest marijuana plantation

The tunnels ran about 2,000 feet from Mexico to San Diego and were equipped with lighting, ventilation and a rail system for drugs to be carried on a small cart.

The biggest ever plantation in Mexico prior to this week's discovery was in northern Chihuahua state in 1984.

U.S. officials say they believe the tunnels also were the work of the Sinaloa cartel.

While the Arellano Felix or Tijuana cartel long dominated the drug trade in Baja California, the cartel has been greatly weakened by government hits on its leadership, and authorities say there are signs that the Sinaloa cartel now also operates in the area.