Pubdate: Sat, 09 Sep 2006 Source: Mail Tribune, The (Medford, OR) Copyright: 2006 The Mail Tribune Contact: http://www.mailtribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/642 Author: Anita Burke, Mail Tribune Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Note: Only prints LTEs from within it's circulation area. SHUT DOWN Early morning raid reveals large-scale marijuana operation in dense woods near Cantrall-Buckley Park In the largest marijuana raid in Jackson County this year, officers removed more than 7,000 plants from a complex of eight gardens in the Applegate area Friday. They expect to continue today removing plants from large scattered growing operations in steep, rugged terrain in the hills south and west of Cantrall-Buckley Park. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department estimated the complex had at least 10,000 plants, most of which were 6 to 12 feet tall. "These are large, cartel-type grows," Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters said. "They are testing law enforcement to see if we will allow them to take root, and we won't." The Drug Enforcement Administration, which led today's efforts, said these groves appear to be part of a multistate growing operation controlled by a single family, though details were not available because of an ongoing investigation. No arrests were made Friday. A multiagency force of about 220 officers from 11 agencies swept in early Friday morning from a base camp in Ruch, targeting four gardens police had watched for weeks. A Bureau of Land Management law enforcement officer spotted suspicious activity in the forest and helicopter searches uncovered four groves, irrigated by water lines strung from a stream, where small dams had been built, Winters said. "If you don't know what you're looking for, you can't see them, but once you know, these are just like row crops," helicopter pilot Randy Jones said. The groves grew tucked away on steep hills beneath a mix of tall timber, old oak and reforested areas, he said. After SWAT teams from Jackson, Josephine, Siskiyou and Douglas county sheriff's offices, Klamath Falls city police department and Oregon State Police secured the gardens, searching helicopters found four additional groves, officials said. Initial reports of someone seen running through the hills as teams swept in led to a jogger, Jackson County Sheriff's Capt. Rod Countryman said. Reports of shots fired in the Applegate area around 9 a.m. grounded search helicopters briefly until officials determined the blasts were from Valley View Winery's attempts to scare birds from its vineyards, Countryman said. When each garden was secure, two teams of DEA agents moved in to collect evidence, including plant samples. Then teams of deputies and troopers followed to pull out the plants, some of which had stems an inch in diameter and sizable root wads in the hard, reddish soil. At one garden off Cantrall Road, illegal gardeners had cut brush and small trees to make room for row upon row of marijuana planted in clusters of several plants. Some plants had been harvested before law enforcement arrived and their stubby stems were already sprouting new buds. The camp at that grove included large drying racks made by stretching landscape cloth over a frame of manzanita sticks. Sleeping bags were stashed beneath the racks and mounds of dried stems piled up at the end of each rack. A pair of socks hung to dry, while others lay in the dirt along with a single Nike Air tennis shoe. A shopping bag from a Supermercado with four locations in Oakland lay next to one from Wal-Mart. A short way down the hill, a makeshift kitchen included a propane grill and bags of garbage indicating a diet of eggs, tortillas and Top Ramen. A fresh packet of Oscar Mayer sliced ham glistened in the dirt, flies circling. Officers found weapons and ammunition at most of the camps, known as "hooches," Friday, Countryman said, although a list of weapons reportedly seized wasn't available. The plants were bundled with ropes and nets, then lifted by helicopters into dump trucks. The trucks hauled the plants to an approved disposal location, where they were buried, Winters said. Planning for the raid took several weeks, said Salem-based OSP Capt. Jerry Gregg, who commands the state police's special operations division, including SWAT and mobile response teams at work on the raid Friday. OSP had about 50 officers there. "This is running smoothly," he said. "Everybody knows their role and how to interact." He said the only other raid of this size and scope in Oregon was one in Malheur County last year. "It truly has to be interagency or you don't have enough resources to deal with it," Gregg said. Winters said the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department has served as a mentor in training local authorities to deal with large growing operations. Siskiyou County has battled large grows, believed to be linked to cartels, for years, he said. "We are getting better at finding and working them" said a DEA agent who declined to be identified to protect his undercover work. "We are coordinating efforts." Using informants and undercover officers, the DEA has pegged local marijuana prices at about $3,450 a pound for dealers and $5,000 or more a pound for retail buyers on the street, Winters said. Each of the large mature plants seized Friday would have produced at least a pound, making the seizure worth $35 million to $50 million, officials said. "We are definitely taking money from someone's pocket," Winters said. Agencies participating in Friday's raid included Jackson, Josephine, Siskiyou and Douglas county sheriff's offices, Klamath Falls police, the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service, the Oregon State Police, the DEA and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek