News
ENLARGE
A multi-agency team destroyed more than 20,000 marijuana plants at three grow sites Monday and Tuesday near Malakoff Diggins State Park.
More than a dozen law enforcement officials including members of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office narcotics task force, the state Campaign Against Marijuana Planting Program and the Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team swarmed two of the gardens at dawn Tuesday. The U.S. Forest Service also assisted in the operation.
But they found the sites deserted and believe the growers might have abandoned the more than 12,000 plants, said MAVMIT team commander Ray Giorgi.
Tuesday's operation took place about a half-mile from Graniteville Road and Spanish Mine Road and focused on two gardens separated by a canyon, about 600 to 700 yards apart on two ridges, said Sheriff's Lt. Joe Salivar.
“We spotted it about four weeks ago” during an aerial reconnaissance, Salivar said. The grow sites were found in a remote area of the county southwest of Graniteville, about 20 miles northeast of Nevada City.
Both gardens had sleeping and living areas set up, and were believed to operated by Mexican nationals, Giorgi said.
The plants at the two gardens raided Tuesday reportedly ranged in size from 2 feet to 6 feet high and were budding.
“There were signs the suspects were in the process of preparing the buds for distribution,” Giorgi said. “They had drying lines up, there were discarded leaves and stalks ... They had started harvesting.”
The condition of one of the gardens suggested the suspects were not actively staying on location, even though the gardens were fully operational, said Sheriff Keith Royal.
“All their cookware was there, they had some drip lines still going,” Salivar said.
A third garden, also a Mexican national grow, was discovered Monday about six miles south of the two gardens spotted from the air, Salivar said. About 8,000 plants were discovered at that site. Authorities believe a couple was staying at that garden, but no one was apprehended.
Most of the larger grows in the region — those with more than 500 to 1,000 plants — are controlled by illegal aliens, Giorgi said.
The combined haul out of the three gardens was 21,000 marijuana plants, along with several firearms and ammunition. Any process marijuana or cola that was found was taken out for destruction and all the plants were uprooted, Giorgi said.
The grows were considered fairly sizable for Nevada County. Local raids netted nearly 3,000 plants in July in Rough and Ready, and 40,000 small plants were found in a Lake Wildwood garden in May. A multi-agency raid on properties owned by Charles Hilkey in September 2009 netted less than 1,000 plants and 135 pounds of processed marijuana.
Each plant could produce 1 to 2 pounds of processed marijuana with an estimated value of $2,000 to $3,000, according to Giorgi.
This year has seen an increase in violence that has left five suspects dead during raids of marijuana gardens across Northern California during the past several weeks.
One suspect was fatally shot in a gunbattle Aug. 18 when more than 60 law enforcement officers raided a marijuana garden in a remote area of Mendocino County.
“This is one of the more violent years we've had,” Giorgi said. “The people tending the plants are well-armed and this year, they're making more, they're getting a percentage of the product. We're also hearing that their families are being threatened in Mexico. And the financiers are telling them, not only to tend the plants, but to protect them at all costs.”
Law enforcement is taking a more aggressive stance as well, for several reasons.
“There are a lot of hunters and ranchers and hikers being confronted at gunpoint,” Giorgi said. “So there's a danger to the public. And there's also a lot of environmental damage.”
Many of the Mexican grow sites have armed sentries and escape routes, and it's possible the growers at the Graniteville gardens were spooked by hikers or hunters in the area or from the helicopters, he said.
“You always want to make arrests,” Giorgi said. “We're not content with just cutting the plants. We want to put these people in jail and hold them accountable.”
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4229.
More than a dozen law enforcement officials including members of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office narcotics task force, the state Campaign Against Marijuana Planting Program and the Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team swarmed two of the gardens at dawn Tuesday. The U.S. Forest Service also assisted in the operation.
But they found the sites deserted and believe the growers might have abandoned the more than 12,000 plants, said MAVMIT team commander Ray Giorgi.
Tuesday's operation took place about a half-mile from Graniteville Road and Spanish Mine Road and focused on two gardens separated by a canyon, about 600 to 700 yards apart on two ridges, said Sheriff's Lt. Joe Salivar.
“We spotted it about four weeks ago” during an aerial reconnaissance, Salivar said. The grow sites were found in a remote area of the county southwest of Graniteville, about 20 miles northeast of Nevada City.
Both gardens had sleeping and living areas set up, and were believed to operated by Mexican nationals, Giorgi said.
The plants at the two gardens raided Tuesday reportedly ranged in size from 2 feet to 6 feet high and were budding.
“There were signs the suspects were in the process of preparing the buds for distribution,” Giorgi said. “They had drying lines up, there were discarded leaves and stalks ... They had started harvesting.”
The condition of one of the gardens suggested the suspects were not actively staying on location, even though the gardens were fully operational, said Sheriff Keith Royal.
“All their cookware was there, they had some drip lines still going,” Salivar said.
A third garden, also a Mexican national grow, was discovered Monday about six miles south of the two gardens spotted from the air, Salivar said. About 8,000 plants were discovered at that site. Authorities believe a couple was staying at that garden, but no one was apprehended.
Most of the larger grows in the region — those with more than 500 to 1,000 plants — are controlled by illegal aliens, Giorgi said.
The combined haul out of the three gardens was 21,000 marijuana plants, along with several firearms and ammunition. Any process marijuana or cola that was found was taken out for destruction and all the plants were uprooted, Giorgi said.
The grows were considered fairly sizable for Nevada County. Local raids netted nearly 3,000 plants in July in Rough and Ready, and 40,000 small plants were found in a Lake Wildwood garden in May. A multi-agency raid on properties owned by Charles Hilkey in September 2009 netted less than 1,000 plants and 135 pounds of processed marijuana.
Each plant could produce 1 to 2 pounds of processed marijuana with an estimated value of $2,000 to $3,000, according to Giorgi.
This year has seen an increase in violence that has left five suspects dead during raids of marijuana gardens across Northern California during the past several weeks.
One suspect was fatally shot in a gunbattle Aug. 18 when more than 60 law enforcement officers raided a marijuana garden in a remote area of Mendocino County.
“This is one of the more violent years we've had,” Giorgi said. “The people tending the plants are well-armed and this year, they're making more, they're getting a percentage of the product. We're also hearing that their families are being threatened in Mexico. And the financiers are telling them, not only to tend the plants, but to protect them at all costs.”
Law enforcement is taking a more aggressive stance as well, for several reasons.
“There are a lot of hunters and ranchers and hikers being confronted at gunpoint,” Giorgi said. “So there's a danger to the public. And there's also a lot of environmental damage.”
Many of the Mexican grow sites have armed sentries and escape routes, and it's possible the growers at the Graniteville gardens were spooked by hikers or hunters in the area or from the helicopters, he said.
“You always want to make arrests,” Giorgi said. “We're not content with just cutting the plants. We want to put these people in jail and hold them accountable.”
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4229.
