NEW CUYAMA  (AP) — Sheriff’s deputies destroyed more than 5,400 marijuana plants and rescued a sick puppy while serving search warrants on illegal grows in the interior of Santa Barbara County this week.

The Sheriff’s Office says the pot found at three sites in rural Cuyama Valley was estimated to be worth $2.7 million.

The office says the cultivation sites did not have state or county licenses to operate legally.

At one location deputies also found a small amount of cocaine and more than $9,000 in cash. At another site, deputies found a puppy among grow chemicals.

No one was taken into custody. Several people fled into foothills from one site, another had a large, empty camp, and a third had several camping trailers.

The puppy is being adopted by a sheriff’s detective.