68 marijuana plants located in annual sweep

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LISBON – With a helicopter overhead and a small army made up of state and local agencies, the search for marijuana plants in Columbiana County was under way Friday.
The search was hardly an easy task to accomplish.
With the plants hidden in secluded areas, there were no easy paths to the illegal plants. In addition, agents constantly have to be on the lookout for booby traps surrounding the illegal plants.
The Columbiana County Drug Task Force, Bureau of Criminal Investigation and members of the Columbiana County Sheriff's Department were all part of a team combined with a helicopter from the state to eradicate marijuana.
There were a total of 68 marijuana plants discovered during the search, according to Sgt. Brian McLaughlin, director of the CCDTF. The value of the plants found during the search is estimated at $68,000.
Each plant is valued at approximately $1,000, according to the National Drug Enforcement Agency, but the total value depends on quality and size of the plant.
The plants found during the search were scattered across the county. A total of 66 plants were found in cornfields and two were located in a wooded area.
The largest find was in the western part of the county along Hartley Road. There were 37 marijuana plants found buried deep in a cornfield.
Another 29 were found scattered across the western portion of the county and two were located right in the center.
The group also located 15 plants measuring over 5 feet tall in a cornfield along Knox School Road and others were located in a cornfield on Mountz Road.
The only two plants not located in a cornfield were found inside a wooded area on Case Roa along an old gas well road.
In the center part of the county right inside Elkrun Township, the team discovered plants growing in a cornfield behind a residence on Scroggs Road.
The helicopter was manned with a BCI agent and several members of drug enforcement agencies flying overhead keeping a sharp eye on the ground for marijuana plants growing throughout the county.
The program is designed with the use of the helicopter because it allows agents to spot the illegal plants from the air that would otherwise go unnoticed because the location is often in areas with overgrown brush, a farmer's field or in a densely wooded area.
Drug agents at the scene said that the spotter is able to distinguish the plants from the air from other vegetation. The spotter is then able to let the agents on the ground agents know where and how to get to the plants.

Morning Journal News
KRISTY FOSTER
kfoster@mojonews.com
8/30/2004
https://www.morningjournalnews.com/story.asp?ID=30215
 
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