cannabisnews.com: San Bernardino Pot Bust Linked To County San Bernardino Pot Bust Linked To County Posted by FoM on September 14, 2000 at 18:37:19 PT Raul Hernandez, Scripps-McClatchy Western Service Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News A marijuana farm with more than 15,000 plants with an estimated street value of $45 million discovered Tuesday in a remote area of the San Bernardino National Forest has been linked to three other pot farms in Los Angeles, Riverside and Ventura counties. Equipment similar to that at the marijuana farm in the San Bernardino area was being used at the narcotics farms in the other counties, said Chip Patterson, spokesman with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. "There is other evidence that I can't disclose," he said Wednesday. Patterson said officers believe an unnamed Mexican cartel is behind the farm operation in San Bernardino. "That is, they are apparently setting up, financing and possibly hiring workers for all four operations," he said. Patterson said narcotics officers suspect a Mexican cartel is involved because of the growing techniques, equipment and intelligence gathered at the San Bernardino site. No arrests were made because nobody was in the area when officers arrived, Patterson said. Earlier this month, thousands of marijuana plants were found hidden in a remote area of Ventura County in northern Matilija Canyon. Deputies found more than 4,055 plants and sophisticated growing equipment. They estimated the drug's street value at $4 million to $5 million. Along with the plants, investigators found food supplies, cultivation tools and rifles. Some of those items may reveal useful information, Ventura County sheriff's narcotics Sgt. Bob Garcia has said. Garcia couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. Miles of plastic tubing carried the water to several marijuana gardens spread out over three ravines, Garcia said earlier. Garcia and Patterson believe the crops were being harvested by illegal immigrants. Patterson said as many as eight people camped in the San Bernardino area to maintain the farm. Judging by an encampment in the middle of the gardens, investigators believe at least four people tended the plants in Ventura County, according to Garcia. Patterson said there could be a number of reasons that Mexican drug dealers are growing marijuana in California, and one is because it's "more convenient and closer" to drug users. "Maybe smuggling has become too risky," Patterson said. However, Jose Martinez, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Los Angeles, said there is no indication that Mexican drug dealers are now harvesting marijuana in remote areas of this country instead of smuggling. Tuesday's marijuana haul was one of the largest found in San Bernardino County, Patterson said. About 23,000 plants were also discovered in San Bernardino by air by the Sheriff's Marijuana Eradication Team, which flies over the park and remote areas looking for the illegal leafy substance. "We do reconnaissance missions occasionally to try to spot growths," Patterson said. The Ventura County plants were spotted by helicopter. Patterson said the marijuana harvesting season begins in September, and it is easier for the MET investigators to spot the 6- to 12-foot plants from the air now that they are bigger. Contact Raul Hernandez of the Ventura County Star in California at: http://www.staronline.comVentura, Calif. Published: September 14, 2000Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)Copyright: 2000 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters denver-rmn.com Address: 400 W. Colfax, Denver, CO 80204Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/Related Articles: Raid Yields Plantshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7015.shtmlWeeding Out Pot Farms From Aloft http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6950.shtml200 Million in Pot Seized in Huge Kern Bust http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6888.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: