Pubdate: Thu, 16 Aug 2007
Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.dailynews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246
Author: Jason Kandel, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

$10 MILLION IN POT FOUND IN VERDUGO MOUNTAINS

Police seized some 5,000 marijuana plants with an estimated street 
value of $10 million this morning found nestled in the Verdugo 
Mountains above Glendale.

A helicopter scouring the area for signs of fires on Tuesday found 
spotted an "unusual patch of greenery," said Glendale Police Officer 
John Balian. Narcotics detectives hiked up the mountain and 
discovered a sophisticated marijuana farm throughout the area. The 
operators had designed a watering system using the water from a tower 
that was designed to be used in case of brush fires, Balian said. 
Police also seized a sleeping bag, rifle scopes, and rifle bullets 
from nearby, but no suspects were in custody.

"As far as we know, they're long gone," Balian said. "We're not going 
to tolerate marijuana farms in the city of Glendale. Obviously they 
are not conducting a legitimate business up there. They're doing 
illegal activity."

The Glendale Police Department, in a "joint task force" with the 
Burbank Police and Glendale Fire Department, worked through the day 
to remove nearly one acre of marijuana from the Verdugo Mountains 
above Crescenta Valley Park in Glendale.

The marijuana is of a very high quality known as "Sensimillia" 
because the buds on the plant have no seeds, said Glendale Sgt. Tom 
Lorenz, who estimated the street value of the plants at $10 million. 
The plants were cut down and flown out of the mountains by 
helicopter, and then loaded into a dump truck, headed to a special 
drug burn site in Long Beach.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman