Largest Marijuana Crop Ever Found In Mexico

A record-busting marijuana plantation covering 300 acres (120 hectares) has been discovered in Mexico, the military has said.

The plantation is located in the Baja California desert, more than 150 miles (250km) south of the US border.

It is four times larger than the second biggest marijuana fields ever found by authorities, discovered at a ranch in Chihuahua state in 1984.

"It is the largest marijuana plantation in Mexican history," said military commander Alfonso Duarte.

General Duarte said the plantation can produce 109 tonnes of marijuana, which he valued at nearly \$160m (£100m).

The plantation, which includes accommodation for some 60 workers, is hidden in an area best known for growing tomatoes.

Soldiers found the plantation while on ground patrol, and arrested six of the nearly 20 people who were working there at the time.

Video of the plantation showed a sophisticated system of piped-in irrigation to support the plants, some of which were several feet tall.

Mexico has been plagued by a war between drug gangs.

In November, US and Mexican investigators found two long tunnels under the border between Baja California and California, along with more than 40 tonnes of marijuana.

The tunnels ran around 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.

US officials have said those tunnels are believed to be the work of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, headed by that country's most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

It was unclear which cartel, if any, operated the newly-found plantation.