MODESTO (AP) — Drug agents are destroying thousands of marijuana plants after two large-scale busts in the San Joaquin Valley occurred as harvest time nears.

Officers in Madera County arrested four gang members, seized 2,000 budding plants, 120 pounds of processed marijuana and several stolen weapons near Chowchilla on Thursday.

Sheriff John Anderson said the men were members of the Tiny Rascals Gang, one of the largest Asian street gangs in the nation. The investigation began a year ago, and agents served a search warrant at their rental home early Thursday morning.

Also on Thursday SWAT teams from the Ceres Police Department and Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department discovered 2,500 plants growing on a 10-acre property south of Modesto.

Agents found 12 people on the site and were holding them for questioning.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.)