POLICE MONITOR MARIJUANA OPERATIONS

ASHBURNHAM -- A combined drug investigation by local and state police
with help from the Massachusetts National Guard found and destroyed
more than $30,000 worth of marijuana plants this past week,
authorities said.

A Guard helicopter flying low over wooded areas of Ashburnham and
surrounding towns on Wednesday discovered several small crops of
marijuana growing among the natural vegetation, said Ashburnham Police
Detective Robert Siano, a member of the North Worcester Country Drug
Task Force.

The Massachusetts State Police React Task Force also was involved in
the operation. The helicopter pilot radioed the coordinates of the
drug crops to ground crews, who destroyed the plants, Detective Siano
said.

In Ashburnham, police found and destroyed 74 marijuana plants spread
over three sites. Smaller sites with fewer plants also were found in
surrounding towns, Detective Siano said.

No arrests had been made as of yesterday afternoon.

Such aerial drug-spotting operations typically are carried out once a
year.

"I would say this year was a little bit more productive than most
years," Detective Siano said.