chico.medic
09-28-2006, 11:18 AM
Raid produces more than 7,500 marijuana plants
By BARBARA ARRIGONI - Staff Writer
ALDER SPRINGS -- The Glenn County Sheriff's Office organized the seizure of more than 7,500 marijuana plants in a rugged part of the Mendocino National Forest Wednesday.
It was the second forest raid by Glenn deputies within 24 hours.
Agents found three marijuana patches at an area near Rockwell Ridge in the Mill Creek drainage system, where the terrain is steep, rough and filled with manzanita. The garden was about 32 miles west of Willows and about seven miles north of Alder Springs.
It took three helicopter trips to haul the plants four miles to the operation command location at Long Point off Forest Highway 7.
Most of the plants were 2- to 3-feet tall, although Glenn deputy Sean Arlin said some were as tall as 5 feet. Some buds on the mostly female plants were up to four inches long.
Arlin said the garden was first spotted by air on Sept. 19th.
Wednesday's operation began at 8 a.m. with one team of agents hiking in and another team flown into the area by helicopter. Like most marijuana growing operations discovered in recent months, this one had a campsite with a kitchen and plastic tubing for watering, Arlin said.
Although there are no suspects at this time, Arlin said he wouldn't be surprised if the patch was connected to a marijuana garden raided near Elk Creek earlier in September. Seven suspects were arrested Sept. 9 in connection with that raid.
At Long Point, Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones said the garden seized Wednesday is consistent with grows by drug-trafficking groups that are plaguing public land in the north state.
"It's an absolute rape of our public land, not only in the amount of manpower to eradicate it and keep it out of the hands of our citizens, especially the youth," Jones said. "They pose a threat to people that recreate, hunt, and a threat from pesticides and human waste. It's an ecologically unsound way of doing business."
Along with the sheriff's Marijuana Eradication Team, agents from the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting and the U.S. Forest Service assisted with the raid which could have had a total street value of up to $30 million.
In separate operations miles apart Tuesday and Wednesday, the Glenn County Sheriff's office seized nearly 25,000 illegally grown marijuana plants in the Mendocino National Forest.
The regional operations commander of CAMP, Ed Heredia, said that so far this year, the organization has assisted in eradicating more than 1.5 million plants statewide.
Glenn County has seized more than 65,000 marijuana plants this year. Last year, the county netted 13,000 plants.
Although Jones said he doesn't know the exact cost of a single eradication operation, Arlin said it costs at least $10,000 for sheriff's deputies alone. The sheriff said the helicopter rental costs more than $600 an hour.
By BARBARA ARRIGONI - Staff Writer
ALDER SPRINGS -- The Glenn County Sheriff's Office organized the seizure of more than 7,500 marijuana plants in a rugged part of the Mendocino National Forest Wednesday.
It was the second forest raid by Glenn deputies within 24 hours.
Agents found three marijuana patches at an area near Rockwell Ridge in the Mill Creek drainage system, where the terrain is steep, rough and filled with manzanita. The garden was about 32 miles west of Willows and about seven miles north of Alder Springs.
It took three helicopter trips to haul the plants four miles to the operation command location at Long Point off Forest Highway 7.
Most of the plants were 2- to 3-feet tall, although Glenn deputy Sean Arlin said some were as tall as 5 feet. Some buds on the mostly female plants were up to four inches long.
Arlin said the garden was first spotted by air on Sept. 19th.
Wednesday's operation began at 8 a.m. with one team of agents hiking in and another team flown into the area by helicopter. Like most marijuana growing operations discovered in recent months, this one had a campsite with a kitchen and plastic tubing for watering, Arlin said.
Although there are no suspects at this time, Arlin said he wouldn't be surprised if the patch was connected to a marijuana garden raided near Elk Creek earlier in September. Seven suspects were arrested Sept. 9 in connection with that raid.
At Long Point, Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones said the garden seized Wednesday is consistent with grows by drug-trafficking groups that are plaguing public land in the north state.
"It's an absolute rape of our public land, not only in the amount of manpower to eradicate it and keep it out of the hands of our citizens, especially the youth," Jones said. "They pose a threat to people that recreate, hunt, and a threat from pesticides and human waste. It's an ecologically unsound way of doing business."
Along with the sheriff's Marijuana Eradication Team, agents from the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting and the U.S. Forest Service assisted with the raid which could have had a total street value of up to $30 million.
In separate operations miles apart Tuesday and Wednesday, the Glenn County Sheriff's office seized nearly 25,000 illegally grown marijuana plants in the Mendocino National Forest.
The regional operations commander of CAMP, Ed Heredia, said that so far this year, the organization has assisted in eradicating more than 1.5 million plants statewide.
Glenn County has seized more than 65,000 marijuana plants this year. Last year, the county netted 13,000 plants.
Although Jones said he doesn't know the exact cost of a single eradication operation, Arlin said it costs at least $10,000 for sheriff's deputies alone. The sheriff said the helicopter rental costs more than $600 an hour.