One of the largest drug busts in Dane County took place Wednesday, when officers confiscated more than $1 million dollars of marijuana and 1,124 plants.

The Dane County Narcotics Task Force issued warrants for four different locations, seizing the 1,124 plants from three residences in Madison and one in Sun Prairie. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office listed 44-year-old Donald Alston of Madison as the primary suspect at every location.

Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said the case could be tried in federal court because of how many drugs there were.

Alston was taken into custody and charged with maintaining a drug dwelling, possession of marijuana, four counts of manufacturing marijuana and intent to deliver the drug, according to a Dane County Sheriff’s Office statement. 

Charges will most likely be elevated because one of the residences was close to a school, Dane County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Elise Schaffer said.

Schaffer said Alston is currently detained in the Dane County Jail and officers are investigating where the marijuana was distributed. Two more people that were potentially involved and may be arrested are also under investigation, she added.

DeSpain said all of the properties’ basements were converted to grow rooms. A loaded 12-gauge shotgun and drug paraphernalia were also found at the crime scenes, he said.

“All the plants were in different stages of growth,” DeSpain said. “This displays how it has been a long-term operation.”

No one was injured during the operations, Schaffer said.