VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (
WFTV) -- A K-9 team sniffed out 79 marijuana plants growing in a field during a training exercise in Volusia County, authorities said.
The Volusia Bureau of Investigation (VBI) was called out to investigate the accidental find, linking the drugs to a New Smyrna Beach man, officials said.
The incident happened Wednesday afternoon as a group of K-9s and their police handlers were training with a private K-9 training facility in New Smyrna Beach.
Police said while practicing a track through some woods near S.R. 44 and S.R. 415, a K-9 team stumbled onto a tent. The handler said his dog's behavior started to change as it pulled him off track and led him to the tent.
Investigators said a VBI team arrived at the scene where 79 marijuana plants and about a pound of cultivated marijuana were located. The investigation led agents to a home on Monza Drive near the tent.
Authorities said they arrested Anthony Parrish, 38, on charges of possession and manufacture of marijuana. Agents said they also found a small amount of marijuana in Parrish’s trailer.
Parrish was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach with $3,000 bail.