http://www.newsregister.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=226792
Drug teams working out of Tillamook, Washington and Yamhill counties have swooped in on one major outdoor marijuana grow after another in recent months.
Since commencing operations for the season in early June, they have seized more than 22,000 plants in Yamhill County alone. That compares to just 1,529 plants during the same period last year.
Yamhill County Sheriff's Capt. Ken Summers was certain the figure listed for last year was a mistake at first. Then he double-checked.
He could only shake his head in amazement after reviewing the numbers for recent years. Reports show 350 plants being uprooted in 2002; 209 in 2003; 868 in 2004; 916 in 2005. Last year's 1,529 actually reflected quite a surge, making this year's skyward-soaring total stand out all the more.
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"There's been an increase in DTO activity," Summers said, referring to the acronym the federal Drug Enforcement Administration uses for drug-trafficking organizations - based mostly in Mexico or South America.
"We used to deal with individual growers, longtime residents of the area," he said. "They would just plant their own gardens. Now, it has become profitable for major organizations to become involved. These large grows have been classified as being connected with a DTO by the DEA."
On Monday, a task force led by the Washington County's Westside Interagency Narcotics Team seized another 1,300 plants northwest of Henry Hagg Lake in rural Washington County. That brings the haul tied to a particular Latino DTO to 7,000 plants, 1,103 of which were seized in Yamhill County.
Seven Cornelius residents have been arrested and lodged in the Washington County Jail in Hillsboro in connection with that operation. They allegedly are responsible for multiple grows on private and public timberland in Tillamook, Washington and Yamhill counties.
The Monday raid took place near Southwest Scoggins Valley and Dodson roads, a recreational area. The seizure was part of an ongoing investigation in which the Yamhill County Interagency Narcotics Team has been participating.
Statewide, 224,000 plants linked to DTOs have been seized this harvest season, up 85 percent from last year according to Ron Nelson of the state Department of Justice, who heads Oregon's domestic cannabis eradication and suppression program and coordinates state efforts with those of the DEA.
Why such an upsurge? One possible reason is the pressure law enforcement is putting on DTOs in California.
"We believe some of the product we have seized was destined to go to San Bernardino, Calif.," Summers said.
California growers are feeling the heat, so are moving north. The push began several years ago in Southern Oregon timber country, but has begun to move on north into Oregon's Coast Range timberlands.
The state's temperate climate, excellent soil and extensive rural and forested areas facilitate the outdoor cultivation.
"We are becoming increasingly more adept at investigating and locating grows," Nelson said. "We have learned from what we have found, adapting to the evidence and the trends that we have seen."
Nelson said there's a good chance more marijuana was being grown in the past than indicated by the number of plants seized. He said some of the increase in seizures no doubt reflects increased attention and refined techniques on the part of law enforcement, particularly its interagency drug team component.
He doesn't necessarily expect a big downturn in seizures next summer, but predicted DTOs would become more reluctant to set up camp in Oregon, thanks to the state's aggressive investigation and prosecution.
"There have been more than 30 DTO-related arrests made statewide this year," Nelson said. "A majority of those people will be prosecuted. We're hoping that will serve as a deterrent and lead to decreased activity in the future."
Facing charges locally are Vernonia Carrera-Garcia, 21; Adrian Jacobo-Ortiz, 31; Maul Nieto-Velasquez, 21; Agustin Tinoco-Cervantes, 22; Israel Tinoco-Cervantes, 31; Jesus Tinoco-Cervantes, 20; and Jose Magdaleno Tovar-Perez, 22. All are Cornelius residents tied to the Latino DTO producing the recent bounty of seizures.
The men have been lodged in the Washington County Jail in Hillsboro. Some have had immigration holds placed on them by Immigration and Customs Enforcement because they are in the country illegally.
"We've taken this group down pretty fast, before they were able to harvest their crop," said Washington County Sheriff's Sgt. David Thompson. "The main players are in jail right now. We got the large growers.
"Our main concern with this group, and it's something we've never seen before, is there were armed guards living in the woods protecting their plants. That's unusual for the northwestern corner of the state."
Thompson said members of the public who camp, hike and hunt in the woods, or engage in other recreation activities in wooded areas, can be putting themselves at risk without ever realizing it.
"Anyone could easily stumble onto one of these grows," he said.
Large operations have been discovered on timber company lands as well as U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Oregon Department of Forestry lands.
"There are people who aren't so nice guarding these grows with weapons," Thompson said. "We advise anyone who is out in the woods, and finds himself in the middle of a marijuana patch, to retreat quickly."
Two Yamhill County grows have been discovered on Weyerhaeuser land. The company recognizes that's a problem that won't go away anytime soon, and it poses a risk for company personnel as well.
Weyerhaeuser owns more than 2 million acres of forest land in Oregon and Washington alone. It also has holdings other states, some of them very sizable.
"There is probably marijuana growing on other land, too," said company spokesman Frank Mendizabal. "We don't condone it.
"We always cooperate with authorities, which is about all we can do. We can't patrol all our property all the time. It's a problem any rural landowner has."
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