POT FIND IS THIRD IN TWO MONTHS

LILLINGTON - Over the last two months, lawmen in Harnett County have
broken up three massive marijuana farms near the Broadway community.
The latest bust occurred Thursday, when Harnett County deputies found
30,000 plants with an estimated street value of $72 million. That
brings the total number of marijuana plants found this summer to
70,000. All told, the plants had an estimated street value of $168
million. Sheriff Larry Rollins said there is "no doubt" that the finds
were related. Each of the three operations were found in wooded areas
and included camp sites. Water, fertilizer and chemicals used to
protect the plants from animals and insects were found nearby and the
plants have ranged from 1 foot to over 6 feet. "This was an elaborate
operation," Rollins said of the latest bust. The amount of marijuana
found by investigators this summer has shocked Rollins. He said there
is no comparison to years past and that he's only heard of finds this
large coming from the western United States. He said the drug growers
were probably drawn to Harnett County by the abundance of remote areas.

"We're very popular this summer it seems," he said. No arrests have
been made in the cases but Rollins said investigators were close Thursday.

He said deputies arrived on the scene to find a hot oven and that a
bloodhound was on the scent of a suspect, but a thunderstorm washed
away any chance to make an arrest.

"We thought we had them," Rollins said, adding that investigators were
looking into other leads and would continue to look for more
operations. The finds have each been part of the department's annual
marijuana eradication program.

On July 21, an aerial search located about 5,000 plants in 11 plots of
land about three miles from Broadway. That find was estimated at being
worth $12 million, according to Maj. Gary McNeill.

McNeill said the camp site found nearby had enough food to support six
or seven people at a time.

On June 10, deputies found 35,000 marijuana plants worth an estimated
$84 million. Those plants were watered from a nearby creek with a
homemade irrigation system that consisted of between 700 and 800 feet
of garden hose. Two crude huts had been built for caretakers,
indicating that people were staying at the site around the clock.

Rollins previously told the Observer that similar operations have been
found in national parks.

"We're pretty certain it's one of those large Mexican operations
they've seen in the western United States," Rollins said.

Anyone with information on the finds is asked to call the Harnett
County Sheriff's Office at (910) 893-9111.