Google Earth’s software is often used by homeowners to find their homes, and by vacationers to scope out exotic destinations before making concrete travel plans. Now, police have discovered that Google Earth is an excellent tool for spotting massive fields of marijuana.

In Switzerland, police managed to come across a “large marijuana plantation” while using Google’s popular software. Swiss police report that the marijuana field was discovered in Thurgau sometime last year while they were investigating a suspected drug ring.

While officers were using Google Earth to merely locate the exact address of two farmers they suspected of being involved in the ring, they came across a jackpot — a two-acre-large plantation hidden in a field of corn. “It was an interesting chance discovery,” Zurich police’s specialist narcotics unit Norbert Klossner told the Associated Press. No kidding.

The investigation yielded the seizure of 1.2 tons of marijuana and the arrest of 16 people. Prosecutor Gabi Alkalay said that she plans to ask for prison sentences for all involved.

Source: Ars Technica