Pubdate: Thu, 11 Aug 2005
Source: Union Democrat, The (Sonora, CA)
Copyright: 2005 Western Communications, Inc
Contact:  http://uniondemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/846
Author: Amy Lindblom
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

ANOTHER 2,600 POT PLANTS UPROOTED

Tuolumne County Sheriff's narcotics officers yesterday netted another 2,661 
marijuana plants in an on-going operation to uproot marijuana crops in the 
region.

In just three days, narcotics officers have destroyed more than 10,000 
marijuana plants growing on public lands in Tuolumne County. The growers 
are all believed to work for large, organized drug cartels that traffic 
marijuana and methamphetamine, said Sgt. Jim Mele, head of the Tuolumne 
County Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Monday, county and state law enforcement officers uprooted 5,434 plants 
near Groveland. Tuesday, another 2,000 plants were netted near Moccasin.

Yesterday, 2,661 plants were found and destroyed on land in the Stanislaus 
National Forest, 15 miles east of Tuolumne.

The 10,095 plants are about a third the total number of marijuana plants 
destroyed in Tuolumne County in all of 2004.

None of the growers who were living at and tending the three marijuana 
gardens were around when the raids took place.

The growers left behind piles of trash, irrigation drip lines and 
fertilizer, along with camping and personal gear, Mele said. Officers 
photographed all the camp sites and retained some of the gear as evidence 
for a possible prosecution.

The marijuana was cut, hauled out, chipped up and burned.

Mele said the gardens were all spotted from the air earlier in the summer 
and tagged for eradication when the Sheriff's Department could get help in 
the form of agents and helicopters from the state Bureau of Narcotics' 
Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.

CAMP agents travel the state and work with county law enforcement officers 
to cut and haul out the marijuana plants.
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MAP posted-by: Beth