A North Carolina sheriff's deputy recently discovered an opium poppy field outside of Charlotte worth an estimated $500 million, officials told NBC News.
More than 2,000 plants, which can be used to make opium, morphine and heroin, were found on an acre of land on a farm near the town of Claremont, the Catawba County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Cody Xiong, 37, was arrested at the farm Tuesday and charged with two felonies, officials said. He was later released after posting $45,000 bail.