Pubdate: Mon, 16 Sep 2002
Source: Gadsden Times, The (AL)
Copyright: 2002 The Gadsden Times
Contact:  http://www.gadsdentimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1203
Author: Lisa Rogers, Times Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

MORE SECURITY AT BORDERS BELIEVED TO BE ONE REASON FOR MORE MARIJUANA FOUND 
THIS YEAR

The changes in the last year have been countless.

But finding more illegal drugs probably isn't one of the changes that comes 
to mind. More security at the borders might be one of the reasons more 
marijuana plants have been found this year during the annual statewide 
eradication. The number of marijuana plants found this year in Alabama well 
exceeds the number found in the last several years.

And the year isn't over. Statewide, eradication teams had found more than 
52,000 plants by the end of August. The teams will search for and destroy 
the plants until it frosts. From May to October 2001, 37,484 plants were found.

"I believe it's due to 9-11," said Cpl. Jay Howell, who is heading one of 
the statewide eradication teams for the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. 
The borders were shut down and security has become much tighter since Sept. 
11, Howell said. Veteran helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Robert M. 
Culpepper of the Alabama National Guard, which flies for eradication, said 
the number of plants has been up a lot this year, but he isn't convinced 
it's because of tighter borders. "They're still stopping trucks on the 
intestates which are loaded down," he said. Even this year, with the 
numbers so much higher than the past few years, it still isn't as high as 
the number of plants many years ago, Culpepper said. The bright green 
leaves of marijuana plants are not hard to spot from the sky, Culpepper 
said. Over the years, he has learned to look at certain areas which have 
potential. Some plants are seen growing among timber, he said.

"Some of it's in places you wouldn't ever think about," he said. Howell 
said he doesn't know if less marijuana is crossing the border, leading 
those in the illegal trade to grow their own, or if more people are just 
afraid less will be imported. "We've definitely seen more this year," he said.

Most of the marijuana plants pushing the numbers higher have been found in 
Northeast Alabama, he said. Culpepper said south Alabama, near the Florida 
line, was the biggest area in the state several years ago. "Northeast 
Alabama has been pretty big for a few years now," he said. Cleburne County 
leads with 21,855 plants found so far this year, followed by Cherokee 
County at 10,787. Cleburne County also led in 2001, but the number of 
plants found was 7,424. In Cherokee County, 4,907 plants were found. The 
number jumped drastically in Etowah County, from 327 in 2001 to 1,395 found 
so far this year. Statewide totals for 2000 was 42,618 and 48,700 in 1999. 
In 2001, 5,373 plants were found in DeKalb County. At the end of last 
month, though, only 99 plants had been found this year. But the eradication 
team had only one chance in May to fly before last weekend, when pilots 
spotted more than 1,000 plants growing behind a house near Dogtown. After 
those plants were found, the eradication came to a halt when the officers 
tried to get the man to come to the door, without success.

Officers were familiar with the man, who had been charged previously with 
trafficking in marijuana.

An ABI agent trained as a negotiator was with the eradication team and 
talked to the man throughout the day, by phone and on a loud speaker, to 
try to get him to come out. A seven-hour standoff followed before agents 
with the state trooper tactical team went into the house, where it was 
discovered the man had taken some poisonous liquid, believed to be brake 
fluid, authorities said. He remains in critical condition. For the most 
part, the jobs of those on the eradication team are not eventful.

Saturday's find was an exception. The ABI heads the statewide eradication 
team, said Brent Thomas, spokesman for the state troopers and ABI. Across 
the state, the ABI is assisted by National Guard pilots and ground crews 
and teams for refueling helicopters used in the searches. Schedules are 
made for each county, where local officials assist the eradication team 
with manpower and knowledge of the area and of suspects, such as the 
situation Saturday. Local officers knew the man had caused problems before 
and exercised all caution. The pilots begin flying by 9 a.m., while agents 
wearing bright orange T-shirts identifying them as members of the 
eradication team wait, either at the airport, or any shaded parking lot 
near where the pilots are flying. When a pilot spots the plants, he radios 
to the agent commanding the team with coordinates and ground crews drive to 
the area. Agents on four-wheelers usually go into the woods where many of 
the plants are spotted.

The plants then are loaded and hauled out of the woods to be destroyed.

Many times the plants are in the woods and no houses are around.

If the plants are near a house, the officers knock on the door and attempt 
to find out who lives there to make an arrest. In Jackson County last week, 
at least 13 arrests were made during eradication. In Cherokee County on 
Sunday and Monday, three arrests were made and more than 200 plants were 
seized. Last week was a sort of a "blitz," Howell said. Three teams, 
utilizing six helicopters, concentrated their efforts in Jackson, Cherokee 
and DeKalb counties.

The crews spent two days in each county.

The "blitz" was completed earlier this week in Cleburne County, where more 
than 4,200 plants were found. Marijuana is not the only drug that has seen 
an increase. More methamphetamine labs are being found, DeKalb County Task 
Force Commander Darrell Collins said. "We've found between 50 and 60 meth 
labs since October," Collins said. "We've only seen two cocaine cases." The 
first meth lab found in DeKalb County was in 1986, but another was not 
found until 1998, Collins said. By then, the meth problem in this area 
already was surfacing, but few labs were found, he said. But since January, 
only one case of imported meth has been worked, Collins said. "In January, 
we've had five pounds of imported meth that was being brought in to 
distribute," he said. People have become so addicted, small-time dealers 
have turned to making their own, he said. Collins said he, too, feels 
heightened security at the borders has made a difference in the drugs 
coming to the area. More marijuana is being grown and more meth labs are 
turning up, he said. "I never thought we'd see more meth cases than 
marijuana," he said. "We're seeing a combination of both."
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