SHERIFF SEIZES $11.3M WORTH OF MARIJUANA

DURHAM The Durham County Sheriff's Department seized more than 2,000
marijuana plants worth an estimated $11.3 million Monday night in eastern
Durham County, a sheriff's spokesman reported.

The 2,174 plants were in a "very, very secluded area" off Lumley Road,
about five miles west of Raleigh-Durham International Airport and south of
U.S. 70, said Lt. N.H. Gordon of the Sheriff's Anti Crime and Narcotics Unit.

The National Guard spotted the plants while flying a mission and contacted
the Sheriff's Department, he said.

Each plant was worth $5,200 each, based on information from the federal
Drug Enforcement Agency, Gordon said.

"That's a chunk of money," he said. "It's been about two, three years since
we've had a seizure this size. This is a very large seizure."

The Sheriff's Department did not know Monday night who owned the property
or if it was public land. Charges would depend on proving the property
owner knew the marijuana was there, Gordon said.

Most of the marijuana probably would have been distributed locally, Gordon
said.