Swiss Nab Pot Farmers Using Google Maps

A facade of corn plants couldn't hide two acres of marijuana from Google's eye in the sky.

Apparently you can find a lot more than good hiking trails and deer getting hit by the Street View van using Google Earth. On Thursday, police in Switzerland reported that they successfully used Google Maps’ satellite view to spot a discrete marijuana-growing operation from the sky.

According to the Associated Press, officers in Thurgau, Switzerland were attempting to find the address of two farmers implicated in a drug ring when they stumbled upon a much more incriminating find: two acres of marijuana plants nestled within the middle of a corn field. They later showed up the farm and made 16 arrests, seized 1.2 tons of pot, and $780,000 in assets.

The police plan to prosecute all the suspected drug dealers in February and press for prison sentences on all 16. They are alleged to have sold up to 7.7 tons of hashish and marijuana between 2004 and 2008.