Pubdate: Wed, 07 Jun 2006
Source: Free Press, The (Kinston, NC)
Copyright: 2006 Kinston Free Press
Contact:  http://www.kinston.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1732
Author: Katie Marshall
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

WAYNE, GREENE RAIDS STOP POT FARMS

Two unrelated operations in a three-day span netted more than 19,000 
marijuana plants in Wayne and Greene counties.

The Wayne raid on June 2 was the largest marijuana plant seizure ever 
in that county, with law enforcement officials eradicating more than 
15,000 plants.

The plants were found in one large plot off BlackJack Church Road and 
four smaller plots off Ferry Bridge Road near the Neuse River.

Lt. Tom Effler of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department said deputies 
used aircraft - the sheriff's department helicopter "Raven," a 
National Guard helicopter and a State Bureau of Investigation 
airplane - to locate the plants.

"We have trained spotters in the helicopters," he said. "They look 
for different designs and colors of the plants."

The plants ranged in size from inches to 4 feet tall. If the plants 
had grown to maturity, they would have a potential street value of 
more than $36 million, Effler said.

According to a press release from the SBI, a National Guard pilot was 
returning to Raleigh when he spotted a large field of marijuana 
plants in Wayne County on June 1.

"It's growing season," Effler said. "But it's still early. Plants 
start maturing in August and September."

Effler said the hardest part of the seizure was getting to plants 
down by the Neuse River. Deputies requested assistance from the N.C. 
Forest Service to cut trails leading to some of the plants.

"Machetes and bush axes were used to clear paths and fight off 
snakes," he said. "It made getting the plants out much easier."

About 30 people were involved in the seizure, including the Goldsboro 
Police Department and the Wayne County Search and Rescue Team.

Effler said the plants were burned that afternoon.

SBI agents and the National Guard also seized 4,000 plants in Greene 
County on May 31. A large plot of marijuana plants were found near 
the intersection of Bullhead Road and Pope Farm Road in western Greene County.

Effler said statewide units will be flying looking for marijuana 
plant operations.

"It's that time of year when everyone is going to be flying," he 
said. "We're going to fly every opportunity we can get."

In 2004, 35,965 total plants were eradicated by the SBI; of those 
3,393 were growing indoors. As a result, 86 arrests were made.

No arrests have been made in either county and investigations are continuing.
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