FruityBud
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For almost six hours Thursday, the roar of helicopter blades and pungent aroma of marijuana in bloom filled the air just north of Vacaville, as Solano County and state authorities infiltrated and eradicated a pair of illegal cultivation gardens.
In all, 3,100 plants were destroyed.
Of those, 1,443 mature plants, worth an estimated $7.2 million, were seized from a Gates Canyon growing area. They were later taken to a burn site in rural Vacaville.
The remaining 1,657 marijuana plants, discovered in Cold Canyon near the Monticello Dam, were cut down and left in the field. The plants, officials said, lacked the buds that make marijuana potent and were not worth the effort needed to remove them.
All in all, participants said, the mission went well.
"It's the first of the season, but it's not gonna be the last," Solano Sheriff's Lt. Gary Faulkner said. "We'll be working this the next six or seven weeks."
Approximately a month ago, sheriff's officials began eyeing the canyons in search of marijuana gardens.
About a week ago, they hit pay dirt.
Early Thursday, around 7:30 a.m., members of two sheriff's teams -- Solano County Narcotics Enforcement Team and California Multijurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team -- partnered with members of the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, a state-sponsored drug enforcement task force, to attack the problem.
Two by two, the 20 law enforcement officials were delivered into the canyons via helicopter to find and remove the marijuana plants. In Gates Canyon, the cut stalks, estimated to be between 4 and 10 feet tall, were loaded onto cargo nets billowing below the aircraft and lifted out. The loads were then dropped into the beds of trucks ready to take them to a rural destruction site.
In Cold Canyon, Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Dudley said, it appeared that some plants had already been harvested, and not by authorities.
Two campsites were found in the area, Dudley said, complete with supplies and a large pond that would feed the plants. No "growers," however, were found.
Last year's eradication operations yielded about 60,000 plants, officials said.
hxxp://shuurl.com/I5966
In all, 3,100 plants were destroyed.
Of those, 1,443 mature plants, worth an estimated $7.2 million, were seized from a Gates Canyon growing area. They were later taken to a burn site in rural Vacaville.
The remaining 1,657 marijuana plants, discovered in Cold Canyon near the Monticello Dam, were cut down and left in the field. The plants, officials said, lacked the buds that make marijuana potent and were not worth the effort needed to remove them.
All in all, participants said, the mission went well.
"It's the first of the season, but it's not gonna be the last," Solano Sheriff's Lt. Gary Faulkner said. "We'll be working this the next six or seven weeks."
Approximately a month ago, sheriff's officials began eyeing the canyons in search of marijuana gardens.
About a week ago, they hit pay dirt.
Early Thursday, around 7:30 a.m., members of two sheriff's teams -- Solano County Narcotics Enforcement Team and California Multijurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team -- partnered with members of the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, a state-sponsored drug enforcement task force, to attack the problem.
Two by two, the 20 law enforcement officials were delivered into the canyons via helicopter to find and remove the marijuana plants. In Gates Canyon, the cut stalks, estimated to be between 4 and 10 feet tall, were loaded onto cargo nets billowing below the aircraft and lifted out. The loads were then dropped into the beds of trucks ready to take them to a rural destruction site.
In Cold Canyon, Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Dudley said, it appeared that some plants had already been harvested, and not by authorities.
Two campsites were found in the area, Dudley said, complete with supplies and a large pond that would feed the plants. No "growers," however, were found.
Last year's eradication operations yielded about 60,000 plants, officials said.
hxxp://shuurl.com/I5966
