Deputies Find Pot Grow In Sonoma County Worthe $21 Million

[Jim Finnel]

A tip from a hunter this week led sheriff's narcotics officers to a multi-million dollar marijuana plantation growing in a rural area of northern Sonoma County.

Narcotics detectives Thursday hiked to the grow operation, which the sheriff's office referred to as "the marijuana season eradication opener." The pot garden was located about 12 miles west of Lake Sonoma, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

The garden was uninhabited when law enforcement arrived, but detectives found evidence of a campsite nearby and concluded that the operation was likely tended by just one person.

More than 10,500 marijuana plants ranging in height from 3 to 4 feet tall were found and eradicated, according to the sheriff's office. A fresh water source had been diverted to irrigate the plants and a hillside had been cleared of native vegetation.

The street value of the pot plants at harvest would have been more than $21 million, according to the sheriff's estimates.


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: insidebayarea.com
Copyright: 2010 Bay City News Service
Contact: Contact Us - Inside Bay Area
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• Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article

 

[Gecko]

...What a waste of time, money, and weed..... Disgraceful....

 

[PitViper]

at least they valued somewhat reasonably....2000.00 a plant...out doors . I can believe that..if they were well grown and sinsemilla

 

[Gecko]

...I agree... But it's still a waste!.... They could have sent it up here.... I'd have helped them smo....smo...eradicate them!... (once they were done flowering!!) 8^) ...

 

[Slowpuffer]

at least they valued somewhat reasonably....2000.00 a plant...out doors . I can believe that..if they were well grown and sinsemilla

Can you imagine harvesting 1000 plants ?? And you know they were carrying it out to a road . Damm, that's a massive haul !! And that is a very low estimate , as i figure one plant will produce 4 lbs. outside, depending on the strain !! And how well they were tending to it !! You know damm well that he knew what he was doing !! Wonder what that tenders job pays ??

 

[Purple Goose]

at least they valued somewhat reasonably....2000.00 a plant...out doors . I can believe that..if they were well grown and sinsemilla

They should confiscate it all send out rangers to watch the progress and harvest it and just give it away to medical patients on limited income they know its damn well safe as its growing in a natural enviroment being watered by a diverted stream and all. Would be a much more cost effective way of taking back the use of govt land then just killing them all and prolly burning them on site so the area is now going to be barren of all vegatation for a few years .

 

[Medifreddie]

A tip from a hunter this week led sheriff's narcotics officers to a multi-million dollar marijuana plantation growing in a rural area of northern Sonoma County.

Narcotics detectives Thursday hiked to the grow operation, which the sheriff's office referred to as "the marijuana season eradication opener." The pot garden was located about 12 miles west of Lake Sonoma, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

The garden was uninhabited when law enforcement arrived, but detectives found evidence of a campsite nearby and concluded that the operation was likely tended by just one person.

More than 10,500 marijuana plants ranging in height from 3 to 4 feet tall were found and eradicated, according to the sheriff's office. A fresh water source had been diverted to irrigate the plants and a hillside had been cleared of native vegetation.

The street value of the pot plants at harvest would have been more than $21 million, according to the sheriff's estimates.


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: insidebayarea.com
Copyright: 2010 Bay City News Service
Contact: Contact Us - Inside Bay Area
Website: Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notice

• Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article

Hmmmm, not sure what to make of this article. First: "A tip from a hunter..." Generally speaking, fear of discovery from hunters doesnt come into play until October, when hunting season (deer etc) and crop harvesting are both ongoing. Personally, I dont buy it. Call me paranoid, but I see this as simple orchestrated propaganda.

Second: [I]The garden was uninhabited when law enforcement arrived, but detectives found evidence of a campsite nearby and concluded that the operation was likely tended by just one person.[/I] First, who's kidding who? Referring to 10,500 plants as a garden is like calling a bazooka a pea shooter. Second, even the brain-deadest of growers wouldnt attempt to place ALL 10,500 plants in one place. Think about it. 10,500 plants, from the air, would appear similar, well gee, say to the size of an average Iowa cornfield. Who would do that and think it could be remotely possible to pull off the grow? And the same so called corn field, to be only tended by one guy? 10,500 plants, one guy? Get real.

Here's my point. I think the Narco hiking dudes intentionally failed to mention one important possibility and that is, it is very probable the grow is cartel related. It has all the tell-tale indications of our south of the border hermanos grow style, the most important being ridiculous in size/volume, one primary location and a brazen lack of stealth. Personally, I think the local county barney's most likely suspect or out right know it's a cartel op but dont want to admit, inform or God forbid, alarm anyone of the fact that Julio, Juan and the vatos have now come to their county. Instead, they craftily omit pertinent and important information that might indicate a larger county problem while letting us, the public, assume it's our boys which intern, gives the whole med marijuana growing a bad name which then allows the local council members to stand up at the next town meeting and say, "See, we told you this medical marijuana business was a bad idea..." I think I have a case... MF

Food for thought...Remember the tip from the hunter guy? Consider this: Local and extremely territorial growers dont care for cartel growing. You might say, all around, it's bad for their business. Of course, LEO cant say "We got a tip from a local grower", but if I were a betting man...

 

[Purple Goose]

I wouldnt be at all surprised if it was a wild hemp field or if some smart ass bought a sack of hemp seed and spent a couple weeks or so planting seeds.

 

[Gecko]

...In my "younger" days (late 60's early 70's) we would bust up a couple of kilo's, take the seeds, and scatter them in a certain spot along the highway about 80 miles from home.... We would laugh at the plants growing along side the road. It took a long time before someone would recognize them for what they were and soon they would "disappear"!...8^) Here in Alaska we have lots of sun in the summer, but the sunlight was so long the plants would vegetate, but wouldn't have time enough darkness to turn them to flower, and the "freeze" would come before any were ready to harvest.... It's "inside" growing here!...

P.S. It was just the ol' "Mexican dirt weed" cause that was about the only thing we could get at the time up here!...Sometimes some "Thai Sticks" would hit town and we were "elated"!!!...