Nearly 5,000 Illegal Marijuana Plants Found Growing in Calaveras County

BURSON (CBS13) - Nearly 5,000 marijuana plants were found growing on a property in Burson, Calaveras County and now three people are under arrest.

Members of the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office Marijuana Enforcement Team found 4,834 marijuana plants on a 5-acre property on Southworth Road Thursday. The plants were found growing in the front yard and in enclosed structures. Several large industrial sized generators were found running. The generators were housed in structures with insulation and foam padding.

Three people, Yi Lin (58) of Marlton, NJ, Ni Kong (57) of New York, Ni Shao (51) of Seattle, WA, were arrested for illegal marijuana cultivation, maintaining a drug house and criminal conspiracy. Shao originally gave a fake name, but his true identity was found out during the fingerprinting process. He had previously been deported and has an active warrant for burglary in Newport Beach.