Marajuana Investigation Ongoing

[SmokeWeed]

A massive, ongoing marijuana investigation in the Applegate area has expanded as officers continue to discover and remove plants.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters reported that officers had located 15 drug gardens by Saturday afternoon.

Firefighters from Jackson County Fire District No. 3 and the Oregon Department of Forestry joined officers pulling up plants Saturday as state police and other regional agencies moved on to another project, he said. By 4 p.m. Saturday, crews had pulled 16,243 plants and planned to finish out the day and keep yanking up plants today.

Winters estimated the numerous groves, all believed to be linked to one unidentified cartel active up and down the West Coast, could yield between 30,000 and 50,000 plants. The investigation, led by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, is ongoing and officials declined to release details.

Investigators had their eyes on four gardens in the hills south and west of Cantrall-Buckley Park and had kept search flights away from the area so growers wouldn't be tipped off, Winters said.

"We knew there would be more, but we didn't know how many more," he said.

Using DEA estimates on the current street value of marijuana, the seizures could be worth $150 million or more.

Newshawk: Stoner4Life - 420 Magazine
Source: Mail Tribune, The (Medford, OR)
Pubdate: Sun, 10 Sep 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Mail Tribune
Contact: letters@mailtribune.com
Website: Mail Tribune :: Online Newspaper Edition - Serving Medford, Oregon & Surrounding Cities.