The most recent bust happened in the Pike National Forest, where the West Metro Task Force was tipped off to the most lucrative (and aromatic!) camp ground ever: a large outdoor grow operation home to $2.5 million in weed. From CBS4 Denver:
Jefferson County Sheriff's officials say a rancher on horseback stumbled onto the marijuana field while he was herding stray cattle.
It took officers nearly an entire day to collect the marijuana, which amounted to more than 5,100 plants and weighed nearly 2,000 pounds.
A Black Hawk helicopter from the Air National Guard helped lift large bundles of marijuana out of the rugged terrain.
The bust came just 18 months after a different task force, North Metro, made the largest grow-operation bust in state history -- a bust it nearly blew because of an internal leak probably designed to protect a prominent and politically connected Chinese restaurant owner. And it sort of makes you wonder: Haven't these guys heard of cocaine?
OK, that's not fair. They've made lots of coke busts too. But remember, guys: The Colorado's legal-weed trade is growing fast, and we just might need some of that pot down the road.
