cannabisnews.com: 2 Acres, $5 million Worth of Marijuana in Matteson





2 Acres, $5 million Worth of Marijuana in Matteson
Posted by FoM on September 08, 1999 at 07:33:04 PT
By J. Carole Buckner, Staff Writer
Source: Daily Southtown
Two acres of ready-to-harvest marijuana being cultivated in a forest preserve along Interstate 57 near Matteson will be going up in smoke today, thanks to the Cook County sheriff's police department.
The marijuana, with a street value of about $5 million, was discovered about 100 feet from the Vollmer Road entrance ramp onto northbound I-57 in Rich Township in July based on a tip from an informant, police said.It is the largest seizure of marijuana by the sheriff's department and one of the largest by any police agency in Cook County history, Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan said during a news conference Tuesday.At least one of "several" of the cultivating culprits suspected of planting and tending to the crop during the past 12 to 16 weeks is known to police and is expected to be arrested soon, Sheahan said. Police did not reveal the discovery until now because they were conducting surveillance at the site."This was clearly someone's field of dreams," Sheahan said. "Our real goal is to stop someone from making $5 million from this marijuana by putting it on the streets and selling it to our children."Police found 1,000 to 1,300 marijuana plants at the site. The plants had an average height of 15 feet and some were as high as 20 feet, police said. Several deputies hacked at the plants Tuesday and put them into six-foot piles in preparation for a controlled burn of the marijuana today at the site.The area was a near-perfect spot to grow the crop, said Buddy Weinstein, commander of the sheriff's gang and narcotics unit."This is very isolated and not at all visited by humans," except the growers, Weinstein said. The growers were able to even cut down large trees and tall weeds within the densely wooded spot to clear the site for planting, he said. The culprits used that debris to build a five-foot barricade around part of the site to make it nearly invisible to the outside and almost impossible to penetrate by anyone who, on an off chance, might have wandered inside the area.The carefully cultivated plants, many tied with wire and string at their tops to other trees to keep them from falling over and possibly rotting, were ready to harvest and within "three to four" days of being stripped, dried and packaged for sale, Weinstein said. He said the crop was comparable in potency to marijuana smuggled from Mexico. The growers, whom police said were "very organized" grew the plants from "buds" in containers, took them to the site, planted and then fertilized them throughout the growing season, he said.The growers were dropped off by car along the ramp and later picked up.Sheriff's police said the informant told them of the site during an unrelated drug investigation. Since that time police have had the site under electronic or regular surveillance.Police will keep about 100 of the plants as evidence.This is the second time this summer a field of marijuana has been uncovered in Cook County. Last month police discovered a marijuana field being cultivated near O'Hare International Airport.By J. Carole BucknerStaff WriterWednesday, September 8, 1999
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 08, 1999 at 18:43:48 PT:
Field of Marijuana Set Aflame 
by Kim Vatis Pubdate: Sept. 8, 1999http://www.msnbc.com/local/WMAQ/MATTESON Police Wednesday morning began burning a massive marijuana crop found Tuesday hidden in a forest preserve. The pot would have had a street value of about $5 million. Click the link to read the whole article.
Field of Marijuana Set Aflame 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 08, 1999 at 07:51:12 PT:
Related Article
Healthy Pot Crop is Felled By Police1,300-Plant Seizure Tops for County Cops By Karen CravenTribune Staff WriterSeptember 08, 1999Chicago Tribunehttp://www.chicago.tribune.com/Standing amid 18-foot-tall marijuana plants in a densely wooded south suburban forest preserve, Cook County sheriff's police Tuesday started chopping down a two-acre marijuana field believed to have been maintained since early spring.Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan said officers from the sheriff's gang crimes-narcotics unit, forest preserve police and the Drug Enforcement Administration have had the property--just off Vollmer Road and Interstate Highway 57 in Rich Township-- under surveillance since July.The property is heavily wooded and rarely traversed, Sheahan said.He said the department learned of the field from an informant."This was clearly someone's `Field of Dreams,' but we're happy to say that no one will be making any profits from this crop. And more importantly, the marijuana itself will never hit the streets of Cook County," Sheahan said. He added that the plants would be destroyed Wednesday.The seizure of almost 1,300 marijuana plants is the largest ever for the Cook County sheriff's police and comes two months after Chicago police made a similar discovery--in that case 1,500 plants--on a remote and overgrown field near O'Hare International Airport.Authorities believe at least three people are involved in the maintenance of the south suburban field.One of the people, Sheahan said, has been positively identified through videotaped surveillance and is expected to be arrested this week and charged with manufacturing of a controlled substance.Sheahan said it takes 14 to 18 weeks to harvest marijuana plants.Standing beside several tables covered with plants more than twice his height, Sheahan said authorities decided to clear the field Tuesday because many of the plants were ready to be harvested.Tom Fitzgerald, chief of the sheriff's police, said officers chose not to wait because the field was not under 24-hour surveillance.He said they feared the suspects might come to harvest when officers weren't there.Fighting off swarms of mosquitoes and a web of strings that were tied from tree to tree to support the plants, sheriff's police Tuesday afternoon chopped down the stalks using machetes, pruners and hacksaws.The circular marijuana field, which was cordoned off by a wall of dead trees, grew from ground that had been cleared of smaller trees and brush.Empty bags of fertilizer formulated for shrubs, hedges and lawns were strewn around the property.Cook County Sgt. Craig Demakes, who worked on the investigation and surveillance, said when they first found the field, there were shovels, picks and rakes left behind for cultivating the crop.At least one of the three suspected of maintaining the field stopped by every couple days, he said."It's not like (the plants) needed a lot of care; they're weeds," Demakes said.Tuesday's seizure along with July's have prompted Cook County authorities to notify sheriff's departments throughout the state and advise them to check for marijuana fields in forest preserves."If it can happen right here in Cook County, it could happen anywhere," said Fitzgerald.
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