JAY – The owner of a mill where police say they seized $300,000 worth of marijuana Monday says the pot is not his.

Robert Whittemore, 57, of Jay, owner and operator of the Barking Dog Mill on Route 140, said he arrived at the mill Tuesday to find police had been there. Whittemore said he was away during the raid. He leases the property from National Retail Systems Inc. out of New Jersey, he said.

His mill specializes in making lumber from different kinds of wood.

The marijuana seized Monday was in various stages, from growing plants to prepackaged marijuana ready for sale, Police Chief Larry White Sr. said. Police also took hand-written ledgers as part of the operation, White said.

He said police have a person they’re interested in speaking with. He did not name Whittemore as a suspect.

On Monday, a helicopter being used for a marijuana eradication mission by the Oxford County Sheriff’s Department and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency had been returning to its base when the marijuana was spotted on the Jay property, White said.

The MDEA notified Jay police, he said.

In a collaborative effort by Jay, MDEA and the sheriffs departments in Oxford and Franklin counties, authorities seized 90 growing plants with a street value of $90,000, White said.

After a search warrant was secured, two buildings on the property then were searched, he said.

One pound of processed marijuana packaged in 1-ounce bags for immediate distribution and a digital scale were located in a garage attached to a residence, White said.

An indoor growing room was also found on the second floor of the residence and a drying room was located in a second building, which was attached to a large sawmill building, White said.

Several pounds of hanging marijuana plants were found drying in the room in preparation for stripping the buds off the stalks for weighing and distribution, White said.

Handwritten ledgers established the marijuana for sale at $200 per ounce, or $3,200 per pound, he said. Street value of the marijuana seized if sold at that price is approximately $300,000 dollars, White said.

Whittemore laughed when he heard how much marijuana police say they seized.

“I’m just finding out about this for myself,” Whittemore said when reached at his home in Jay.

Whittemore said he had heard accounts from family and friends when he arrived at the mill Tuesday morning.

“I seriously doubt there was $3,000 worth of marijuana,” he said. “It’s a joke.”

“I disagree that they got anywhere near 90 plants,” he said. He denied involvement in any aspect of the operation.