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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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[CA] 40,000 pot plants seized
#12583456 - 05/18/10 02:02 AM (13 years, 10 months ago) |
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40,000 pot plants seized May 18, 2010 - theunion.com
Mexican nationals apparently fled before county narcotics agents raided a plantation with 40,000 small marijuana plants Monday morning about two miles southwest of Lake Wildwood.
“It's starting early,” said Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal of the major pot growing operations that are becoming more common in Nevada County every year.
“There were indications of up to five individuals staying in the grow,” Royal said. “It appears it had been there for two to three seasons; it looked established.
“It appears the landowners were not aware,” Royal said. “That's not unusual with Mexican national growers” tied to major drug trafficking.
The raid by the Nevada County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force and SWAT team revealed 40,000 marijuana plants at the property between Mooney Flat Road and Houghton Ranch Road. It was discovered during recent aerial surveillance, Royal said.
“They had 10,000 plants in beds in the ground and about 30,000 more starter plants in Styrofoam cups,” Royal said. “They were planted along terraced hillsides with hundreds of feet of irrigation line.”
All the plants were planted below an Nevada Irrigation District canal, and the growers tapped it to gravity-fed water to the crop, Royal said.
Agents found no weapons, but did find camping equipment and food at the site, Royal said.
Mexican growers have moved surreptitiously onto private property in recent years after establishing pot plantations in federal forests and other government land in the Sierra Nevada range, Royal said.
“They're coming down to lower elevations for a better growing season,” the Sheriff said.
Recent activity at site
Officers found no people at the site and made no arrests, said sheriff's Lt. Joe Salivar of the narcotics task force. They detected movement away from the scene when they started the raid, but were unsure whether it was Mexican nationals or deer.
“They found a couple of hooches,” or huts, said sheriff's Lt. Bill Evans. “Usually, when the police show up, these people beat feet.”
“The plants are really small, not very close to budding,” Salivar said, as growers are just now planting for the season.
The Sheriff's Office set up a command center for the operation in a field at Pleasant Valley Road and Biladeau Lane between Highway 20 and Lake Wildwood.
Tall grass on the property was cut for a landing zone for a helicopter to refuel and pick up supplies for officers, Salivar said. The Sheriff's Office hired the helicopter from A&P Helicopters of Marysville, according to refueling man Jay Carlin.
“This weekend, there were about 8 to 10 trucks in that field, and they were weed-eating,” said Mike Dalbeck, whose home is near the command center site. “No one lives there, so it was crazy.”
Dalbeck thought some kind of a drug bust was happening when he saw the helicopter land in the field amid Sheriff's Office vehicles, he said.
If anyone thinks they have stumbled upon a marijuana growing operation or sees anything unusual in the woods, they should quietly leave the area and call the Sheriff's Office at (530) 265-7880, Royal said.
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides
Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
Loc: Earthfarm 1
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Re: [CA] 40,000 pot plants seized [Re: veggie]
#12583637 - 05/18/10 03:22 AM (13 years, 10 months ago) |
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If i ever encounter a grow in the woods, I'll quietly leave the area, but I ain't calling the cops.
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elaspeinreason
psychonaut
Registered: 07/31/05
Posts: 1,029
Loc: fairfax virginia
Last seen: 11 years, 3 months
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Re: [CA] 40,000 pot plants seized [Re: Le_Canard]
#12584132 - 05/18/10 07:40 AM (13 years, 10 months ago) |
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i would never snitch on a grow op i also would never want to encounter a grow op in my state they protect em fierce, heard many stories..
-------------------- Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one Diploid said: What's with proclaiming freedom by abridging freedom? That makes no sense.
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bdzsmkr365247
𝔽𝕝𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕒𝕦𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕤
Registered: 05/18/10
Posts: 301
Loc: ȶɦɛ ʍǟɢɨƈ ɢǟʀɖɛռ
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those pigs split up the crop and transplanted them at they houses!! on the real!! all those pigz r going to be stoned in the fall!! =]
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