Four men claiming to be agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency robbed a Hilmar man at gunpoint of his marijuana plants, the Merced County Sheriff’s Department reported.

There were no injuries reported from the armed robbery that occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday in the 23000 block of American Avenue in Hilmar.

According to the victim’s statement to sheriff investigators, four men in two vehicles showed up at the property and claimed to be DEA agents. The men said they were there to check his marijuana grow to ensure he was in compliance with the medical marijuana guidelines.

The victim, a middle-aged man, took the four men into his grow, at which time they produced a handgun and a pair of handcuffs.

Sheriff spokesman Deputy Tom MacKenzie said the suspects handcuffed the victim and then proceeded to harvest his 20 mature marijuana plants and put them into their vehicles.

One of the suspects went into the residence and took a handgun, MacKenzie said.

After harvesting the plants, the suspects uncuffed the victim. One suspect pointed a handgun at him and told him not to tell anyone or they would be back.

The sheriff’s department was notified of the armed robbery by a witness, MacKenzie said.

The suspects were wearing shorts and T-shirts and had nothing on them that identified them as law enforcement. The two vehicles were described as a black Envoy and a green Toyota pickup.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact the sheriff’s department at 385-7472.