Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
A Wednesday morning raid by law enforcement officers resulted in thousands of marijuana plants and hundreds of pounds of processed cannabis being seized.
A task force of more than 70 officers from the Siskiyou and Jackson (Ore.) County Sheriff’s Offices, the Siskiyou Countywide Interagency Narcotics Task Force, the SCSO Marijuana Eradication Unit, the U.S. Forest Service and Burl Brim Aviation from Ashland, Ore., took part in the operation.
The SCSO Special Response Team and the JCSO SWAT went into the forests overlooking the West Fork, where they discovered marijuana fields, irrigation hoses and deserted “hooches” — outdoor living quarters used by the growers. Sleeping bags, discarded clothes, mobile phone chargers and lots of trash were discovered.
However, no growers were found.
“When our teams went in, they found that the growers had left a week ago,” SCSO Capt. Jim Betts said.
SCSO Sheriff Rick Riggins said that the growers left in a hurry “because they might have been nervous.”
“We’ve been busy in the area,” he said. “Maybe they got spooked and left while they could.”
The SCSO and allied agencies raided a similar plantation last week in the Beaver Creek area; another operation took place a few weeks before, along the Scott River.
Even though the growers got away, the sheriff was pleased that a large amount of plants and processed marijuana were seized.SCSO Det. Sgt. Mike Gilley said that the growers harvested some of the plants and took some of the processed marijuana with them.
“They still left a lot (of plants and processed marijuana) behind,” he added.
Law enforcement officers discovered more than 22,000 plants and more than 500 pounds of processed marijuana at the plantation site, Betts reported.
“The processed marijuana is worth more than $1.5 to $2 million,” Riggins said.“This season, we have taken in more that 150,000 plants, and last year, we took in more than 80,000.”
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters said that his agency has conducted four similar operations in southern Oregon this year.
“They (the growers) are getting smart — they have to, after how hard we (law enforcement) hit them last year,” he said.
He said that his agency, the SCSO and other federal, Oregon and California state and local law enforcement agencies seized more than $320 million in plants and processed drugs from the illegal plantation operations.
“That’s $320 million that the drug cartels won’t see,” he said.
Winters believes that the drug cartels are running the plantations found in recent operations in southern Oregon and Siskiyou County.
“The money the cartels raise by harvesting, processing and selling the marijuana helps fund their meth labs,” he said.
The more money that law enforcement can deny the cartels means less meth on American streets.
“And that's why I’m working with Sheriff Riggins and the other agencies,” he said. The drug problem is one that ignores state borders and jurisdictions and cripples communities in both southern Oregon and northern California.
“The only way we can stop it is by working together,” Winters said.
Riggins said that the partnership between the two agencies is “beneficial to communities on either side of the state line.”
“We don’t want these huge plantations in either of our counties,” he said. “We'll keep hitting these growers hard until they decide not to come back.”
News Hawk- User https://www.420magazine.com
Source: Siskiyou Daily News
Author: BRAD SMITH
Contact: Yreka's Siskiyou Daily News - Contact Us
Copyright: GateHouse Media, Inc.
Website: Yreka's Siskiyou Daily News - News
A task force of more than 70 officers from the Siskiyou and Jackson (Ore.) County Sheriff’s Offices, the Siskiyou Countywide Interagency Narcotics Task Force, the SCSO Marijuana Eradication Unit, the U.S. Forest Service and Burl Brim Aviation from Ashland, Ore., took part in the operation.
The SCSO Special Response Team and the JCSO SWAT went into the forests overlooking the West Fork, where they discovered marijuana fields, irrigation hoses and deserted “hooches” — outdoor living quarters used by the growers. Sleeping bags, discarded clothes, mobile phone chargers and lots of trash were discovered.
However, no growers were found.
“When our teams went in, they found that the growers had left a week ago,” SCSO Capt. Jim Betts said.
SCSO Sheriff Rick Riggins said that the growers left in a hurry “because they might have been nervous.”
“We’ve been busy in the area,” he said. “Maybe they got spooked and left while they could.”
The SCSO and allied agencies raided a similar plantation last week in the Beaver Creek area; another operation took place a few weeks before, along the Scott River.
Even though the growers got away, the sheriff was pleased that a large amount of plants and processed marijuana were seized.SCSO Det. Sgt. Mike Gilley said that the growers harvested some of the plants and took some of the processed marijuana with them.
“They still left a lot (of plants and processed marijuana) behind,” he added.
Law enforcement officers discovered more than 22,000 plants and more than 500 pounds of processed marijuana at the plantation site, Betts reported.
“The processed marijuana is worth more than $1.5 to $2 million,” Riggins said.“This season, we have taken in more that 150,000 plants, and last year, we took in more than 80,000.”
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters said that his agency has conducted four similar operations in southern Oregon this year.
“They (the growers) are getting smart — they have to, after how hard we (law enforcement) hit them last year,” he said.
He said that his agency, the SCSO and other federal, Oregon and California state and local law enforcement agencies seized more than $320 million in plants and processed drugs from the illegal plantation operations.
“That’s $320 million that the drug cartels won’t see,” he said.
Winters believes that the drug cartels are running the plantations found in recent operations in southern Oregon and Siskiyou County.
“The money the cartels raise by harvesting, processing and selling the marijuana helps fund their meth labs,” he said.
The more money that law enforcement can deny the cartels means less meth on American streets.
“And that's why I’m working with Sheriff Riggins and the other agencies,” he said. The drug problem is one that ignores state borders and jurisdictions and cripples communities in both southern Oregon and northern California.
“The only way we can stop it is by working together,” Winters said.
Riggins said that the partnership between the two agencies is “beneficial to communities on either side of the state line.”
“We don’t want these huge plantations in either of our counties,” he said. “We'll keep hitting these growers hard until they decide not to come back.”
News Hawk- User https://www.420magazine.com
Source: Siskiyou Daily News
Author: BRAD SMITH
Contact: Yreka's Siskiyou Daily News - Contact Us
Copyright: GateHouse Media, Inc.
Website: Yreka's Siskiyou Daily News - News
