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CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Several suspected illegal marijuana grow houses were raided by federal and state law enforcement officers across the Denver metro area on Wednesday morning.

The DEA says about 25 to 30 houses and business were raided in total as part of the same investigation.

Agents pulled marijuana plants from homes in Aurora, Parker, Centennial and Castle Rock.

In Castle Rock, the DEA raided multiple homes.

With investigations like this, some homes could have up to 1,000 plants inside.

Special Agent Deanne Reuter said such operations planning, and hundreds of officers are involved.

“These drug trafficking organizations take advantage of the state laws and use it to grow the marijuana in Colorado and ship it all over the United States. It’s big money,” Reuter said, referring to general black market marijuana investigations.

The raids come after similar busts in the metro area in the past year where agents seized plants, heat lamps and cash from suspected black-market grow houses in Brighton, Thornton, Aurora, Commerce City and Adams County.