Three Bureau of Land Management biologists surveying a stream in northern Nevada discovered a marijuana garden and were held at gunpoint by three members of what is believed to be a Mexican drug cartel on Tuesday.
The gunmen allowed the biologists to leave the north fork area of the Little Humboldt River and, shaken but safe, the biologists hid until after dark, the Bureau of Land Management said.
In darkness, they skirted their vehicles and started walking along a gravel road toward Paradise, Nev., nearly 15 miles away.
They were discovered along the road by a BLM search party that night.
Early Wednesday, law enforcement officers from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, the Nevada Department of Public Safety's Investigative Division, the BLM Office of Law Enforcement Security, the Winnemucca Police Department and a National Guard helicopter secured the pot farm.
The gun-toting harvesters had fled the area, leaving a makeshift camp indicating five or six people were involved.
Law enforcement officers spent Wednesday and Thursday destroying nearly 800 mature marijuana plants as well as confiscating an estimated 150 pounds of processed buds. The wholesale value of the plants is estimated at $5 million.
The confiscated pot plants are in the custody of the Department of Public Service and will be destroyed.
This is the third incident involving Mexican drug cartel marijuana gardens on BLM-managed public land in Nevada this season, the BLM said. Two others were found in Southern Nevada and did not involve public encounters with the growers.
The BLM cautions people going out on the public lands to be aware if their surroundings. If someone encounters marijuana plants, they should immediately leave the area for their safety and notify the local sheriff's office.
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