It was Google Earth that helped Swiss authorities find cannabis plantation. Yes, it’s absolutely true; Swiss authorities, on Friday, announced that they found a large cannabis plantation with the help of the highly popular free satellite mapping software, Google Earth.

Marijuana plantation was discovered while Swiss police was nosing about a drug racket in the northeastern state of Thurgau last year. According to a media report, the police arrested 16 people and seized 1.2 tons of marijuana, having street value of $2.5 million USD in the operation; they also seized cash and other valuables of over $800,000 value.

According to the Swiss police, with the help of Google Earth, they were trying to find out the whereabouts of some farmers suspected of involvement in the drug racket, and they found the 7,500 m2 illegal marijuana plantation site in the northeastern canton of Thurgau.

Swiss police claimed that they seized “11.1 tonnes of marijuana plus 900,000 Swiss francs ($780,000) in cash and valuables”. According to the police, the gang had "allegedly sold up to 7.7 tons of hashish and marijuana between 2004 and 2008, with an annual turnover of 3-10 million Swiss francs a year".

Norbert Klossner, the head of Zurich police's specialist narcotics unit, said, "It was an interesting chance discovery.” He also told that Marijuana plantation was hidden inside a larger field of corn.