Updated: 9/10/2009 7:56:52 PM
Authorities are in the process of seizing more than 150,000 marijuana plants in a bust just east of Jellico. The street value of the crop is estimated at $150 million.
There were a total of six plots in the mountain gorge, and they showed signs of being very well tended and cultivated.
However, no one was there when authorities responded. They did find a camp.
The 151,250 cannabis plants ranged from three to six feet high. Authorities say they'd have a street value of $600 to $1,000, and were within weeks of being harvested.
Reaching the remote camp took a 45-minute ATV ride, followed by a 20-minute hike on foot.
The plants are being carried out by a Tennessee Highway Patrol helicopter. It will be destroyed by burning.
The area of the bust itself is not as big a field as a record-setting bust in Cocke County, but the plants involved are more mature and had a higher monetary value.
