LIVERMORE FALLS — Three men were each being held Saturday on $10,000 cash bail at an Auburn jail after police and drug agents seized about 20 pounds of marijuana, Livermore Falls Lt. Joseph Sage said Saturday.

They also seized $3,900 in suspected drug proceeds, he said.

Sage and officer Stephen Gould began an investigation Friday after a complaint of suspicious activity was reported on Campground Road.

The officer recognized signs of a possible illegal marijuana-growing operation at the residence and applied for a search warrant, Sage said.

Livermore Falls police and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency executed the warrant on Friday and seized the marijuana in various stages of growth in a variety of areas on the property with a total estimated street value of $40,000 to $50,000, he said.

Police arrested Caleb Hollatz, 29, of Livermore Falls, Benjamin Kahn, 34, of Ashville, N.C., and Shyam Khanna, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., each on a felony charge of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs, Sage said.

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Hollatz is the owner of the property, he said.

A conviction on the charge carries up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The three men remained at the Androsocoggin County Jail in Auburn on Saturday night, a corrections officer said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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