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Chester County authorities say they scouted a large marijuana field for several days before conducting a raid on the property Monday.
A spokesman for the sheriff's office in Chester said Tuesday morning that "the investigation is ongoing," but three suspects were taken into custody.
The sheriff's office and state officials say about 11,000 pot plants, some 5 feet tall, were discovered in more than a half-dozen fields, in a wooded area off Darby Road. That is a short distance from the Chester County Airport, in the northern part of the county.
S.C. Law Enforcement Division officers said they have not determined the street value of the plants, but some reports estimated the value might be $22 million.
The Chester County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a tip led authorities to conduct surveillance of the area in recent days.
This marks the second time this year that a large plot of marijuana was discovered in Chester County.
The men taken into custody were identified as Victor Villa, Ulver Hernandez and Arnulfo Maulcon.
The Rock Hill Herald reported that Hernandez told authorities he lives in Charlotte, and that there might have been four suspects involved in the case.
Four county sheriff's offices -- Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster and York -- joined forces in the raid. They were assisted by SLED, the DEA, and the Rock Hill Police Department.
The Rock Hill Herald contributed.
