MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say three Mexican nationals have pleaded guilty to conspiring to grow marijuana in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin.
U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil says 24-year-old Jorge Lopez-Ontiveros and 29-year-old Abraham Ramirez entered guilty pleas on Monday. Twenty-one-year-old Cesar Tinoco pleaded guilty last week.
They each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison when they’re sentenced early next year.
The men were captured in August after police raided a massive marijuana farm in the forest just south of Clam Lake. Authorities say they found nearly 10,000 marijuana plants worth about $1 million.
Three other men also face federal charges in connection with the farm. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb has set plea hearings for each of them for later this week.
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