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Butler County burglary investigation leads to discovery of marijuana field

Butler County burglary investigation leads to discovery of marijuana field

Butler County burglary investigation leads to discovery of marijuana field

Butler County deputies were chasing two burglary suspects north of El Dorado when they discovered a cultivated marijuana field.

The discovery was made Sunday when deputies were called to look into a home burglary in the 5000 block of Northwest Highway 77.   The deputies saw a man running into a field about a mile to the north, and while searching for him they saw two suspects near a waterway.  The two men ran and one was caught, and that’s when deputies found the marijuana field.

Undersheriff Tony Wilhite said in a press release that it looked like this was a growing operations where a number of people were staying at the field around the clock.

Deputies and agents with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation went into the field Monday and seized over 1,700 cultivated marijuana plants.  They also found a camp site with tents, sleeping bags and a cooking area.    Investigators also found generators and water pumps used to irrigate the field.   It’s estimated that if the crop had been harvested at its full potential, the street value of the marijuana would have topped $1.7 million.

Butler County officials are urging landowners to report any suspicious activity.  October is the month that most marijuana crops are harvested.

The suspected burglar who led deputies to the field was later found and arrested.

Photo courtesy the Butler County Times-Gazette.

Photo above of the campsite where growers lived while tending their marijuana crops. Photo courtesy the Butler County Times-Gazette.

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