PHILLIPS – A father and son were arrested Tuesday after drug agents and other law enforcement officers discovered more than 1,000 marijuana plants in northern Franklin County.

Tad T. Smith, 35, and his father, Joseph Smith, 64, both of Phillips, were each charged with cultivating marijuana, a felony, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Supervisor Gerry Baril said Wednesday.

If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison. Both men were released from the Franklin County jail on $500 cash bail. They are scheduled to appear in a Farmington court Dec. 17.

Warrants were issued to search a house on 40 Small Road, off Number 6 Road, and a hunting camp on Number 6 Road, both owned by Tad Smith, and a hunting camp owned by his father at the end of Number 6 Road, just over the Phillips line in Township 6 North of Weld, Baril said.

The warrants were issued as part of an ongoing investigation and a timely tip, he said.

Maine State Police Tactical Team executed the first search warrant at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday at Joe Smith’s camp, Baril said. Drug agents had information that the elder Smith could be armed with a shotgun, which he was, Baril said. Some modified shotguns were found in his possession, he said.

Once the site was turned over to drug agents, they and about two dozen law enforcement officers from Maine State Police, Maine Warden Service, Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Office of the Maine Fire Marshal and U.S. Border Patrol went to work.

The search encompassed the Smiths’ buildings and about 100 wooded acres in the area, Baril said. Eighty-nine marijuana plants were seized near Tad Smith’s Small Road house, just over his property line, Baril said.

Plants were found drying in the younger Smith’s hunting camp along with packaging material, scales and other materials, Baril said.

In the camp and an adjoining area, an additional 365 plants were found, Baril said. Of those, 104 plant tops, including buds, had been harvested, leaving stocks and leaves behind. Some of those tops were found drying in Tad Smith’s hunting camp, Baril said.

Evidence associated with marijuana cultivation tied the Smiths to the grow operation, he said.

A helicopter from the Office of Air and Marine, Houlton Air Branch was used in the search of the area of Joseph Smith’s camp that turned up 575 plants, Baril said.

A was used to help spot the plants and direct ground crews, he said.

Seventeen firearms were taken from Tad Smith’s house, including eight that belonged to his father, Baril said.

He estimated that the street value of the marijuana, if the plants had matured, would have been about $300,000.

dperry@sunjournal.com