2nd Huge Pot Farm Is Raided : Crime: A bust Thursday of a multimillion-dollar Lancaster marijuana operation leads investigators to a smaller farm in the Antelope Valley.

A second massive underground marijuana plantation, similar to a multimillion-dollar pot farm discovered last week near Lancaster, has been unearthed in the remote Antelope Valley community of Llano, authorities said Saturday.

The Llano find is smaller but more sophisticated than the first, which sheriff’s deputies called the largest such operation ever found in Los Angeles County.

The farms, about 20 miles apart, are linked to similar operations in the Mohave Valley of Arizona, said Capt. Larry Waldie, commander of the sheriff’s narcotics bureau. He said authorities expect to uncover more plantations in the Antelope Valley and, possibly, in other counties.

“This is, without a doubt, the most sophisticated, well-organized, well-planned operation this department has ever encountered,” Waldie said.

Authorities arrested three men and seized more than 6,000 marijuana plants Thursday at the Lancaster location. Evidence found there led investigators to the second farm at 31440 Largo Vista Road. No one was home when deputies raided the house at 11 p.m. Friday, Waldie said.

“The television set was still on and dinner was on the table,” Waldie said. “Someone had been smoking a pipe that was still warm.”

About 2,500 plants ranging in size from seedlings to 18 inches tall were found growing at the Llano house, a sparsely furnished, three-bedroom residence on a dirt road more than a mile off the paved highway. Another 1,500 were found in an upstairs bedroom.

The street value was estimated at $100 million for this year’s crop--about $2,400 a pound wholesale. The Lancaster crop was valued at $150 million.

The newly constructed, one-story yellow house on five acres of land was built for the sole purpose of growing marijuana, Waldie said. The marijuana was cultivated in hydroponic (soilless) garden bins in the basement, which has an automatic water and fertilization system.

Four 5,000-gallon tanks were used to water the plants, and an intricate reclamation system recycled the water. The green plants were nourished by more than 50 grow-lights valued at $500 each.

The lights were powered by a diesel generator, which also supplied electricity to the house. Bales of hay and straw were stacked around the house and around the generator to mask both the unique odor of growing marijuana and the equipment used to cultivate it. A chain-link fence surrounded the house.

“Everything was very professionally done, down to the wiring,” Waldie said. “They knew exactly what they were doing.”

The marijuana cultivators had begun to excavate around the house so they could expand the operation, authorities said.

“This had the potential to be bigger than the first operation,” Waldie said.

The Lancaster site was uncovered after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found two similar marijuana plantations in Bullhead City, Ariz. Those sites were raided Oct. 30 and resulted in seven arrests.

Using the information gleaned from those raids, Los Angeles sheriff’s investigators were able to link the two Antelope Valley marijuana farms.

In addition to the three men arrested in Lancaster, a fourth suspect was arrested Friday night in Long Beach. He was identified as Richard F. Yerger, 28, the listed owner of the Lancaster site. Deputies were still seeking his father, Richard E. Yerger, 60.

More arrests were expected, authorities said. Investigators were expected to search safety deposit boxes and bank records within the next few days.