The Georgia National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force recently released information about assistance its members gave to the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad in mid-December, that resulted in the squad’s largest-ever indoor marijuana seizure.

Task force agents, a Counterdrug official said, conducted surveillance of a commercial building at a Canton industrial park where the marijuana was being grown. The task force researched and developed information related to the growth and harvest of the hallucinogenic, plant-based drug, the official said.

They also assisted in the planning and execution of the search warrant that netted the narcotics squad 212 high-quality marijuana plants, valued at slightly more than $500,000.

Counterdrug agents later processed evidence gathered at the scene that will help the state when the case is brought to trial.

December’s seizure was the result of a month-long investigation that also saw two people arrested in connection with the illegal drug operation. The suspects, whose names have not been released, were charged with manufacturing and trafficking marijuana, a Counterdrug official said.

Information about the seizure and arrests was not released until recently because that would have jeopardized the apprehension of others suspected of being involved in the case, the official said.

Law enforcement officers who participated in the investigation said the plants taken were "sinsemilla," meaning the plants were seedless, and that they were of the highest THC quality.