The Region : DEA Arrests 2 in Marijuana Farm Raid

About 1,200 marijuana plants were seized in a raid on an avocado farm in northern San Diego County as 17 federal agents there got a head start on a planned nationwide crackdown. Gregory Ahlquist, 37, the foreman, and Gary Faught, 31, were arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess marijuana, said Ron D’Ulisse of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The owner of the farm died recently and neither he nor his wife was involved, D’Ulisse said. He said that at maturity, the plants would have had a market value of about $2.4 million. Starting Monday, about 300 state, local and federal agents are expected to converge on marijuana fields across the nation and dig up plants.