MARIJUANA GARDENS MAY HAVE MEXICAN CONNECTION

The raid of several connected marijuana gardens this week revealed
the continued presence of what appear to be Mexican growing
operations in Nevada County, sheriff's officials said.

In the biggest pot raid of the year, Nevada County sheriff's deputies
seized more than 1,600 marijuana plants in the South Fork Yuba River
canyon Wednesday, near the Highway 49 bridge.

No one was arrested in the raid, Capt. Ron Smith of the Nevada County
Sheriff's Office said.

"We believe it was a commercial drug trafficking operation, but it
appeared to be abandoned," Smith said. "There was chicken wire, trash
and garbage, showing people had been there, but they were all gone."

The growers' method of operation matched that of Mexican growers
throughout the state, Smith said.

"(Mexican growers) live in the gardens, as opposed to a grower who
visits a garden, tends to it and goes home," Smith added.

Mexican organizations have expanded their presence throughout the
United States in recent years, especially in rural California.

Narcotics officers believe the organizations grow marijuana and use
the sales to supplement methamphetamine labs.

In June, seven people were arrested on Bitney Springs Road at a site
where processed marijuana kef, methamphetamine, cocaine, $48,000 in
cash and several weapons also were allegedly found.

Federal drug enforcement officials believe two men arrested there may
have ties to big Mexican drug operations, Sheriff Keith Royal said at the time.

It was unclear whether the pot farms raided Wednesday were connected
to the June bust.

The total volume of marijuana confiscated this week could fetch as
much as $1.3 million, according to estimates by local law enforcement.

The sheriff's office came to know of the operation a few weeks ago, Smith said.

"This is the time of the year when we fly, looking for marijuana
operations, as it's nearing harvest time," he said.

During the raid, sheriff's deputies found six to seven interconnected
pot gardens all on federal Bureau of Land Management property, said
Sgt. Bill Smethers of the county's Narcotics Task Force. The gardens
were spread out over the hillside and had a gravity-fed irrigation
system, Smethers said.

"They had actually started harvesting some of the plants, leaving the
stalks on the ground," he added.

The raid involved about 30 law enforcement officers with the Nevada
County Sheriff's Office, Butte County Sheriff's Office, California
State Parks and the Department of Fish and Game, Smith said.