POLICE NAB MORE THAN 60,000 MARIJUANA PLANTS

Deputies seized more than 60,000 marijuana plants over the past week
from the Santa Ana River bed west of Norco, potentially removing
millions of dollars from the pockets of drug dealers, sheriff's officials said.

The operation ended Thursday morning when deputies assigned to the
Riverside County Sheriff's Department Special Enforcement Bureau
hiked in and pulled up the last 18,673 plants at what was called a "grow site."

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has estimated the value
of such marijuana plants at $3,000 to $5,000 each, said sheriff's
Sgt. Glenn Williams, head of the marijuana eradication program.

"It's the cash cow of drugs," Williams said.

The effort began last week, with Thursday's work being the last of
four operations. Deputies would not reveal how the site was discovered.

The plants, many of them more than 6 feet tall, were piled into cargo
nets and flown out by helicopter, destined for a landfill.

No arrests were made.

"It's very difficult to catch these guys," Williams said. "They have
preplanned escape routes and hiding spots. They live in there."

Williams said the number of marijuana plants seized has been
increasing over the years. A couple of years ago, he said, about
90,000 plants were seized, followed by about 181,000 plants last
year. Part of the increase is the result of warmer weather extending
the growing period, from February through October, he said.

"This year, we've topped 200,000 and there's still two or three more
solid months to go," Williams said.