Hamilton Police bust $1 million grow-op on West Lincoln farm

Hamilton police arrested a 64-year-old man Thursday after finding a marijuana grow-op they estimate to be worth more than a million dollars.

The Vice and Drugs unit searched a farm on Twenty Road near Allen Road in West Lincoln.

Officers found a grow operation in a barn, seizing 1,259 plants at various stages of growth and 71 grams of processed marijuana, said Hamilton police spokesperson Terri-Lynn Collings.

Police estimate the value of the seized marijuana to be about $1,250,000.

No one was at the property at the time of the search.

Officers later found the owner of the West Lincoln property at a home in east Hamilton. Collings said the man lived on the farm property and that police were uncertain about his connection to the property in Hamilton.

The 64-year-old man from Smithville was charged with cultivation of marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking. He is expected to appear in bail court Friday.