MADISON, Maine — Somerset County sheriff's deputies discovered nearly 1,500 marijuana plants and pounds of harvested product at a home in Madison on Thursday.
Around 8:35 a.m., deputies executed a search warrant at home on East Madison Road in Madison as part of an investigation into illegal plant cultivation there, the sheriff said in an email.
They seized 1,476 growing marijuana plants, pounds of processed/harvested marijuana, and illicit drug-related activities. No one was home at the time, and investigators said they believed it was strictly a grow house.
"Criminal charges will be forthcoming against the individual(s) responsible for the illegal marijuana plant cultivation activities once the case is reviewed by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office and the suspect(s) are located," Sheriff Dale Lancaster wrote in a news release.
The search warrant was executed by Sheriff’s Office Detectives and Deputies, along with Agents/Investigators/Detectives from the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy, and the Waterville Police Department. The Somerset County District Attorney’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office assisted in this investigation. The Madison Code Enforcement Officer was notified of potential building code violations.
Lancaster said the case is part of a continued investigation into these types of operations in Somerset County.
On Feb. 14, 2024, the Somerset County Sheriff's Office executed a drug search warrant at a home on the Betterment Road in Norridgewock, seizing 1,310 marijuana plants, several pounds of harvested marijuana.
On Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, the detectives executed a drug search warrant at a residence in Mercer, seizing 500 marijuana plants and several pounds of harvested marijuana.
One day prior, on Feb. 8, 2024, deputies seized more than 2,000 growing plants at a home in Norridgewock as part of a search warrant.
On Jan. 17, deputies seized another 750 plants and 90 pounds of harvested cannabis at a home in Cornville.
