Landowner busted over marijuana grow

TORRANCE COUNTY, NM (KRQE) - One of the four men wanted in the case of a huge marijuana plantation that a couple of hunters stumbled upon in Manzano Mountains is now in custody, the Torrance County Sheriff's Department reports.

Deputies said U.S. marshals arrested Joseph Hazle in Texas.  He will soon be extradited back to New Mexico to face charges for the illegal grow on his property.

In September, two hunters stumbled upon the illegal grow . They told deputies that the four men started shooting at them, possibly because they hunters got too close.

Torrance County Sheriff Heath White said its obvious why they didn’t want their operation uncovered. He described it as an elaborate set-up of generators, pumps and 400 pot plants tucked away in the mountains.

The four armed suspects got away, but deputies would start looking for Hazle.

Back then, detectives were not sure if he new about the illegal plantation on his property. But now they allege he knew a lot.

“We located him in Texas and have him in custody right now,” White said. “He's being transported back to Torrance County to face charges of the plantation.”

White said they have evidence Hazle was there when the pot was planted.

They don’t know if he was the brains of the operation or if he supplied the green. Those are questions that are still unanswered, but what deputies do know is whoever was backing the project was in for the long haul.

“Its one of the most well-funded,” White said. “It was elaborate, the irrigation, the way it was set up.  It was set up for long-term marijuana grows.”

While White said this bust is a big win he knows its not over.

“Once we solve one or find one plantation there will be three more that pop up in its place,” White said. “But what we're doing is making it very uncomfortable for these people to come in to Torrance County and have a plantation here.

There are three other men investigators are trying to track down. White would not go into specifics but said those suspects are probably not in the U.S. any more.

The sheriff is still trying to determine if there's a Mexican drug cartel connection to all this.