A federal task force agent was hurt Wednesday when he stepped on a booby trap while chasing a suspect through a Puna marijuana patch.

Hawaii County Police Criminal Investigations Division Capt. Robert Wagner said the officer was pursuing a 32-year-old man wanted on arrest warrants.

The federal officer was attempting to catch the suspect near Azure Drive while conducting warrant sweeps in the Ainaloa subdivision at about 10:30 a.m. The officer ran into the brush in a marijuana patch and stepped on a booby trap armed with nails, causing punctures, police said.

The officer was taken to a medical facility, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Wagner said. Wagner said a multi-agency task force is conducting warrant sweeps in the area.

The presence of a booby trap in a marijuana patch increases the offense to first-degree commercial promotion of marijuana, a class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, according to police.

It was unclear whether the marijuana patch belonged to the suspect, who remains at large.

Police ask anyone with information about this incident to contact Lt. Mark Farias at 961-2253 or at mfarias@co.hawaii.hi.us.