Three nabbed in underground pot farm raid

SAN DIEGO, April 4 (UPI) -- A federal raid at a subterranean marijuana farm in California resulted in the arrest of three men and the seizure of hundreds of plants.

Federal authorities raided the compound in San Diego County Tuesday and charged the property's owner, Damien Anthony Andrews, and two others with numerous drug-related felonies, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In addition to the 34-year-old owner of the 39-acre property in Santa Ysabel, federal officers arrested 40-year-old Anthony Martin Hillerby and Sean Smith, 35.

The underground portion of the land was only accessible through an elevator and a tunnel, which were both under surveillance by security cameras.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Walker Hobson said the marijuana farm was the first one found underground by authorities.

The Internal Revenue Service is seeking to seize the property, the newspaper said.