slacker
Team HuskerBoard
Irregular News for 09.14.06
Cleator, AZ -- Local, state and federal authorities Sept. 6 discovered a cultivated marijuana crop in the rugged terrain of Horse Thief Canyon east of Crown King.
The plantation at the bottom of the canyon and along its walls contained at least 1,000 thriving plants between two and three feet tall. Law enforcement took out a portion of the crop and burned it near Antelope Creek Road, about 15 miles from the canyon.
Yavapai County Sheriff's Office spokesman Scott Reed said the investigators still have to cover a large area of the canyon to make sure that no other plants are growing there.
He said a Department of Public Safety helicopter was flying into the canyon and bringing out plants on a sling. a
"They were in bundles," Reed said. "There were signs that people had been in the area, but no persons were found."
Reed said around 3 p.m. authorities had to stop eradicating the plants in the Castle Creek Wilderness area because of the weather. They resumed their operation Aug. 7.
Reed said investigators are looking for who is responsible for caring for the plants.
Jim Payne, a spokesman for the U.S. National Forest, which also participated in the effort, said most likely Mexican cartels have been directing marijuana cultivation in Arizona.
He said Mexican National growers were working on seven of the 12 sites that authorities discovered over the past two years on the Tonto National Forest.
"Most of the growing areas that have Mexican Nationals are usually related to Mexican cartels," he said.
Payne said this is the second plantation they found on the Prescott National Forest since September 2005.
At that time, a call from a hiker led authorities to marijuana growing in a remote area along the Verde River, about 25 miles east of Chino Valley. The gardens there produced 3,000 plants ready for harvest along with packaged marijuana.
Payne said over the past two years large-scale marijuana operations started emerging on the Coconino, Tonto and Prescott National forests. A total of 15 sites that law enforcement found produced nearly $153,000 worth of plants, he said. Twelve of those sites authorities found on the TNF in Gila County.
"It has been an increasing trend in Arizona," having been previously specific to California and the Pacific Northwest, Payne said.
Other agencies helping the sheriff's deputies in this effort include the Arizona National Guard, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Flagstaff Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking.
source
Cleator, AZ -- Local, state and federal authorities Sept. 6 discovered a cultivated marijuana crop in the rugged terrain of Horse Thief Canyon east of Crown King.
The plantation at the bottom of the canyon and along its walls contained at least 1,000 thriving plants between two and three feet tall. Law enforcement took out a portion of the crop and burned it near Antelope Creek Road, about 15 miles from the canyon.
Yavapai County Sheriff's Office spokesman Scott Reed said the investigators still have to cover a large area of the canyon to make sure that no other plants are growing there.
He said a Department of Public Safety helicopter was flying into the canyon and bringing out plants on a sling. a
"They were in bundles," Reed said. "There were signs that people had been in the area, but no persons were found."
Reed said around 3 p.m. authorities had to stop eradicating the plants in the Castle Creek Wilderness area because of the weather. They resumed their operation Aug. 7.
Reed said investigators are looking for who is responsible for caring for the plants.
Jim Payne, a spokesman for the U.S. National Forest, which also participated in the effort, said most likely Mexican cartels have been directing marijuana cultivation in Arizona.
He said Mexican National growers were working on seven of the 12 sites that authorities discovered over the past two years on the Tonto National Forest.
"Most of the growing areas that have Mexican Nationals are usually related to Mexican cartels," he said.
Payne said this is the second plantation they found on the Prescott National Forest since September 2005.
At that time, a call from a hiker led authorities to marijuana growing in a remote area along the Verde River, about 25 miles east of Chino Valley. The gardens there produced 3,000 plants ready for harvest along with packaged marijuana.
Payne said over the past two years large-scale marijuana operations started emerging on the Coconino, Tonto and Prescott National forests. A total of 15 sites that law enforcement found produced nearly $153,000 worth of plants, he said. Twelve of those sites authorities found on the TNF in Gila County.
"It has been an increasing trend in Arizona," having been previously specific to California and the Pacific Northwest, Payne said.
Other agencies helping the sheriff's deputies in this effort include the Arizona National Guard, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Flagstaff Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking.
source
