Pubdate: Fri, 26 Sep 2003
Source: Press-Enterprise (CA)
Copyright: 2003 The Press-Enterprise Company
Contact:  http://www.pe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830
Author: D.S. Perez
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

POT BOOBY TRAPS MAY BE ON RISE

During a drug bust in Pine Cove earlier this month, something caught Bill 
Mumma's eye.

Razor blades and fishhooks were wired around the stalks of 19 marijuana plants.

"Down here in Southern California, booby traps aren't a common thing," said 
Mumma, a special agent in the California Department of Justice's Bureau of 
Narcotics Enforcement. "It's more common in Northern California, to harass 
(law enforcement)."

Though narcotics officers don't keep statistics on the traps, many say the 
devices are being used more often in marijuana fields and methamphetamine 
labs. The booby traps are meant to protect against animals and people, 
police and thieves. The devices range from simple tripwires that cause tin 
cans to rattle as alarms, to shotguns hooked to wires, to explosives.

In addition to drug-related charges, those who set up traps could face 
other penalties. According to the California Penal Code, anyone who builds 
or places a booby trap is guilty of a felony punishable by two to five 
years in prison.

"Razor blades and fishhooks will ruin your day, but punji pits and bear 
traps . . . those can cause serious injury to an officer," Mumma said.

FIELD DANGERS

Just ask Ron Brovetto, special agent with the California Department of 
Justice. Last month, during a marijuana bust in the Santa Barbara area, a 
fellow agent trod on a camouflaged bear trap. The jaws shut on his boot heel.

Brovetto was right next to the man, who wasn't injured. If the trap had 
been set a bit differently, it could have mangled his ankle, Brovetto said 
by phone.

"It makes you more tactically aware of the area," he said. "It woke us up. 
Reminded us anything goes in these gardens."

Brovetto said he has seen a rise in traps over the past few years. Four out 
of five groves may have some trap, like tripwires, rat traps or bear traps 
he said. Even marijuana growers need protection from crooks, Brovetto said. 
He said that growers have been victimized by criminals posing as police 
officers and stealing their marijuana.

Detective Robbie Ciolli said he hasn't run into a booby trap in three years 
of service with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Narcotics, Marijuana 
Eradication Team. There's more danger from growers with guns protecting 
their pot, he said.

METH LAB METHODS

The danger doesn't stop with marijuana.

In cracking down on meth labs, Tony Ybarra, special agent commander with 
the Allied Riverside Cities Narcotic Enforcement Team, has seen plenty of 
defenses. Drug makers have used angry dogs, cheap sirens or firebomb traps 
using electrical wire and gasoline.

It makes an already dangerous task worse, he said.

"You don't need booby traps for a meth lab," Ybarra said. "The whole thing 
is a trap."

Ybarra also has seen an increase in booby traps. His team has had to call 
the bomb squad three times in the past year, Ybarra said.

Val Jimenez, operations commander for the state's Campaign Against 
Marijuana Planting, notes that not all traps are set for humans. Some are 
meant to keep animals from trashing the crops.

Brovetto agreed. He said a trip-wire neck-or chest-high may deter a human, 
but a wire or bear trap may be meant for a four-legged beast.

Jimenez has his own field story. He recalls a meth lab bust in the Fontana 
area during the early 1990s in which a cyanide crystal was set up to fall 
into sulphuric acid and emit poisonous gas.

"Anyone could trigger it. When we asked (the suspect) about it, it didn't 
dawn on him . . . he could be in danger. It's a different kind of mind-set. 
And these people aren't rocket scientists."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens