3RD MAJOR POT FARM FOUND IN AREA FOREST : THOUSANDS OF TALL PLANTS SPOTTED.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer A major marijuana farm has been found deep within forest land for the third time in less than a month, leading authorities to suspect that a drug cartel Noun 1. drug cartel - an illicit cartel formed to control the production and distribution of narcotic drugs; "drug cartels sometimes finance terrorist organizations" is using the area to grow its crops. On Monday, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD) provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, USA, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that VCSD serves are Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks. destroyed more than 5,500 marijuana plants, 3 to 8 feet tall, discovered three days earlier by two hunters several miles north of Matilija Canyon Road, authorities said. AT $4,000 a pound for marijuana, the plants had the potential for yielding a crop worth at least $22 million in illegal sales, said Capt. Craig Husband of the sheriff's narcotics narcotics n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required. squad. ``This is a disturbing trend,'' Husband said. ``This is a major organization for commercial purposes, and they're doing tremendous damage to the environment.'' More than 15,300 plants with a street value of at least $61.2 million have been found this summer growing in the Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,831 feet. , Husband said. The latest find came Friday night when two hunters spotted the illicit crop while they were stalking Criminal activity consisting of the repeated following and harassing of another person. Stalking is a distinctive form of criminal activity composed of a series of actions that taken individually might constitute legal behavior. deer just north of Matilija Canyon Road, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Sheriff's Department. Spotting three suspects, the hunters hid behind a bush and contacted authorities by cellular phone. About dawn the next day sheriff's narcotics officers hiked into the area and escorted the two hunters out. Three marijuana-farmer suspects, wearing orange hunting vests for disguises, were spotted from a helicopter, the Sheriff's Department said. The three discarded the vests and escaped into the brush, Husband said. No arrests have been made, Husband said Tuesday. About two weeks ago - two days apart - authorities discovered two other marijuana farms along Derrydale Creek, Husband said. There were 9,800 plants on the two farms, he said. Similar methods of cultivation were found at each of the farms, leading authorities to suspect that the same group is responsible for all three. For example, the farms contained elaborate camps, authorities said, with food for several days. Sophisticated irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. systems used water rerouted from nearby streams. The farmers had cut down protected vegetation, dammed the creek, used chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and left trash, paint cans and chicken wire behind, Husband said. They also were poaching poaching: see cooking. game, he said, and authorities found remains of two dead deer, both apparently shot before hunting season opened. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion