ABC's Alexander Marquardt reports from Moscow:
Russia's drug police now have another weapon in their arsenals -- spy satellites.
A senior Russian counter-narcotics official in Russia's Far East said Thursday that his forces are teaming up with the country's space agency -- Roscosmos -- to find and destroy cannabis fields.
"We have been in contact with Roscosmos since late last year," Lt. Gen. Alexander Rolik told reporters, according to state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
Rolik said Roscosmos sends the police the coordinates of the fields, which are then destroyed. So far, the partnership has resulted in the destruction of 119 acres of marijuana and the seizure of 4.4 tons.
"We provide all regional departments of the Federal Drug Control Service with video and photo materials and our monitoring," Roscosmos spokesman Alexander Vorobjev told ABC News, declining to disclose their methods.
Gen. Rolik told reporters that satellites have been used successfully in the Amur and Ural regions of the country, according to RIA Novosti's report.
A year ago, Swiss police spotted a hemp field on Google Earth measuring almost two acres.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: ABC News
Author: Alexander Marquardt
Contact: ABC News
Copyright: 2010 ABC News
Website:Russia Busts Pot Growers? From Space -
Russia's drug police now have another weapon in their arsenals -- spy satellites.
A senior Russian counter-narcotics official in Russia's Far East said Thursday that his forces are teaming up with the country's space agency -- Roscosmos -- to find and destroy cannabis fields.
"We have been in contact with Roscosmos since late last year," Lt. Gen. Alexander Rolik told reporters, according to state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
Rolik said Roscosmos sends the police the coordinates of the fields, which are then destroyed. So far, the partnership has resulted in the destruction of 119 acres of marijuana and the seizure of 4.4 tons.
"We provide all regional departments of the Federal Drug Control Service with video and photo materials and our monitoring," Roscosmos spokesman Alexander Vorobjev told ABC News, declining to disclose their methods.
Gen. Rolik told reporters that satellites have been used successfully in the Amur and Ural regions of the country, according to RIA Novosti's report.
A year ago, Swiss police spotted a hemp field on Google Earth measuring almost two acres.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: ABC News
Author: Alexander Marquardt
Contact: ABC News
Copyright: 2010 ABC News
Website:Russia Busts Pot Growers? From Space -
