Pubdate: Tue, 7 May 2002 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371 LAKELAND OFFICERS FIND MARIJUANA PLANTS ON CITY LAND AGAIN LAKELAND, Fla.- For the second time in less than a year, Lakeland Police officers have found marijuana growing on city land used for flood prevention and drainage. "You're kidding," was City Manager Roger Haar's first response when he was told of the plants found growing in a small portion of the 1,800-acre plot. On Thursday afternoon, police found 11 marijuana plants valued at $11,000 about 50 yards north of where they made a major seizure in June 2001 which netted 750 marijuana plants worth $750,000. No arrests were made from either seizure. Lakeland Police Sgt. Dennis Mack said the two cases are probably connected and the growers are the same, if unknown. "These guys are experienced," Mack said. "They know what is going on and know how to work the system. Unless we catch them doing it we can't pin it on anyone." The city bought the undeveloped and heavily wooded property in 1995 from the Green Horizon Land Trust, the Lake Wales-based nonprofit group dedicated to preserving environmentally significant land and open space in Central Florida. It was purchased to use for flood prevention and drainage, and city workers don't need to routinely visit the area, city officials said. Officers spotted the plants while on helicopter patrol. The plants, growing in pots, were about 100 yards from a city street. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart