An Eagle Mountain resident, James Allen Donaldson, 62, was among 25 individuals arrested April 19 in conjunction with an illegal medical marijuana enterprise.

Several law enforcement agencies under the command of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office executed 12 warrants after a three-month investigation of a Phoenix business that police charge were trying to evade the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.

“This is a major operation making millions of dollars,” said Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

“We have a huge marijuana problem coming across the border and now we are dealing with domestic home-grown marijuana.”

Investigators found that the business was growing marijuana plants in a warehouse at 35 S. 40th St. in Phoenix, as a “caregiver” scheme. Hash, edibles and chief, a dried form of marijuana, also were found in the warehouse.

An estimated 600 to 1,000 marijuana plants were found growing in the building.

On the low end, deputies said the crop could produce 2,400 pounds of product annually. At $3,000 per pound on the market, the total take of 600 plants would be slightly more than $7 million.

A hashish production of this size operation could yield more than $3 million in two years, according to police. Authorities said at various times of the day and night, the odor of growing marijuana could be detected more than 500 yards from the facility.

The business is suspected of growing more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana since opening in late 2013.

Unlike a legal marijuana dispensary under regulations and supervision of the Arizona Department of Health Services, no employee background checks were conducted. Also, there were no safety regulations, no dispensary fees or agent cards, no inventory controls, no product limits or regulations, all of which are required for legal dispensaries.

Additionally, there was no record of the business paying any taxes, stated a MCSO press release.

The primary suspects, Perry Lee Hestor, 57, and his 35-year-old son, Brandon Lee Hestor, were among those arrested along with Donaldson; Christopher Neil Rafferty, 36, and Christopher Yankee Martin, 44.

They were, booked into the 4th Ave Jail and face charges including fraudulent schemes and illegal possession and selling of marijuana.

Along with the Phoenix warehouse, warrants were executed at the Fountain Hills home and residences in Scottsdale and Phoenix.

A MCSO public information officer could not disclose specific details about Donaldson’s involvement because of the ongoing investigation. However, numerous weapons, $40,000 in cash and five pounds of marijuana and narcotic cannabis/hash were recovered from his house. Deputies also reported two Harley-Davidsons motorcycles, a Chrysler 300 automobile, cell phones, computer and safe were confiscated.

Deputies said the operation is similar in nature to one reported in May 2015 in which the sheriff’s office’s High Intensity Drug Traffic Area (HIDTA) task force took down a major drug ring that operated a warehouse on 7th Avenue om Phoenix.

At that location, 581 marijuana plants were discovered. Further investigation resulted in another 784 plants found in a 3rd Avenue apartment, whose occupant had ties to the warehouse operators.