Helicopters Spot $117 Million Of Marijuana

[Freaktan]

Investigators from all over the state are in Cumberland County this week taking to the skies and then to the most rugged of terrain.
So far, they've found and destroyed more than $117,000,000 worth of marijuana growing deep in the woods.
The effort is part of the Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication.

Its three teams are made up of members from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Alcohol and Beverage Commission, National Guard and various Sheriff's Departments.

Dale Hesketh is the team leader for the group working currently working in the Cumberland Plateau.

Hesketh says, "For awhile marijuana was on the decrease and meth on an increase. I can't speak for meth but it looks like marijuana is rebounding in numbers. That's bad for society but good for our program and its success rate."

This is how the operation works. Helicopters overhead spot the marijuana, then radio its location to crews on the ground.

Pilots say it takes several years of practice to be able to pick the pot out. They describe it as diamond shaped from the air with a fuzzy texture.

Hesketh says, " They just have good eyes. They know how to spot it."

The investigators on the ground drive their vehicles as close to the location as they can using main roads and back roads. They then jump on four-wheelers maneuvering on two tracks that sometimes turn into no tracks at all in search of the stash.

"You eat alot of trees, briars, you sweat alot," says Hesketh.

Investigators have dug up, cut up and destroyed more than 78,000 plants in Cumberland County over the past few weeks.

"We're getting plants that are 6 inches to 18 feet tall. It's in all stages. It's time for it to be harvested," says Hesketh.

Investigators say when they are confiscating the drugs they have to be very careful. They've had growers shoot at helicopters before and set up booby traps.

Aussie Thaxter, who works for the Tennessee Highway Patrol says, "We don't start pulling right away. We walk areas to makes sure they are clear of devices."

The statewide effort will continue through September. Investigators will not say where they will fly next.

Hesketh says, "I would think they would be upset. I would be if I tended to something and treated it like my child for weeks and weeks and weeks and now its just a bunch of nubs."

Hesketh adds, "We're impacting our little part of the world's problems."

Newshawk: Freaktan (420times.com)
Source: WBIR.com
Copyright: 2005 WBIR-TV Knoxville, TN
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Website: http://www.wbir.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=28134
Author: Robin Murdoch