Pubdate: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Sacramento Bee Contact: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852 Feedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html Website: http://www.sacbee.com/ Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.html Author: Associated Press THOUSANDS OF MARIJUANA PLANTS SEIZED IN RAID LOS OSOS, Calif. (AP) -- A raid on a marijuana farm hidden by thick vegetation netted about 7,200 plants, some of them 7 feet tall, that had an estimated street value of $21 million, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department said. No arrests were immediately made. Investigators acting on an anonymous tip found the plants Wednesday in nine "gardens" on a 20-acre site in a mountainous area of this unincorporated community, Sheriff's Lt. Steve Boltz said. It was the largest number of plants seized at one time in the county, sheriff's Sgt. Sean Donahue said. Each plant had an estimated value of $3,000, he said. The plants, ranging from 3 feet to 7 feet tall, were between three to four weeks from maturity, Boltz said. They were scattered in drip-irrigated plots, concealed from the air by scrub and oaks. The marijuana farm was not as sophisticated as indoor farms that use grow lights and hydroponics, but it was labor-intensive, Boltz said. "There was a great deal of brush clearing, tree limbs cleared with chain saws," Boltz said. "These plants were very well cared for." The landowners were not suspected of involvement. The property, about 10 miles northwest of San Luis Obispo, was rarely visited because it was too steep to cultivate. It is surrounded by cattle ranches, grain and sugar pea farms, Boltz said. Deputies also seized shovels, rakes, hoes and other gardening tools. The crop would be destroyed, he added. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake