Just days after Mexican soldiers set fire to thousands of marijuana plants, 58 suspects were detained - about a quarter of them were workers at the plantation from the state of Sinaloa.
The massive 300-acre marijuana plantation was located 200 miles south of Tijuana in the Baja California desert. The field had previously escaped detection because it was surrounded by cacti and covered by shade cloth.
Mexican army general Alfonso Duarte Mújica headed the operation and spoke about the details at a press conference in Baja.
"It's important to point out that this seizure is one of the biggest blows to the cartels and their finances," Mújica said. "The street value is estimated to be $160 million."
The plantation was owned and operated by the Sinaloa Cartel, which is headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the most sought-after drug lord in Mexico.
