19,000 MARIJUANA PLANTS SEIZED IN RAMONA

RAMONA - Authorities seized 19,000 marijuana plants growing in a field
near the Ramona Reservoir on Tuesday and yesterday, officials said.

A Sheriff's Department helicopter was used to move the plants to an
undisclosed location where they will be stored until they are
destroyed, said Dan Simmons, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement
Administration.

Members of the DEA Narcotics Task Force who are part of a Marijuana
Eradication Team discovered the plants in an open field Tuesday,
Simmons said.

The team of federal, state and local officials routinely looks for
marijuana fields that have a water source, are remote and can be
concealed by trees, he said.

It was the first seizure this year in that field, which is in a remote
area, about a half-mile from the nearest road, Simmons said.

The team initially expected to find about 2,000 plants there but
instead discovered about 7,000 nearly full-grown plants standing 6
feet tall.

The remaining 12,000 plants were found in a separate garden, about 200
yards away. Those plants were in their early growth stages and were
still in seed beds, Simmons said.

Had all the plants fully matured in ideal growing conditions, each
could grow to at least 8 feet tall and produce about a pound of
marijuana. Each plant then would have a street value of $4,000 to
$5,000, Simmons said.

"We are literally talking tens of millions of dollars," he
said.

Officials said they did not find a campground near the gardens and
don't know who is responsible for the crops.