50,000 POT PLANTS CONFISCATED IN SAN BENITO COUNTY

Second-Largest Seizure In State History

After a monthlong investigation, law enforcement officials in San Benito
County yesterday squashed the second-largest marijuana-growing operation in
state history, leaving behind the remains of more than 50,000 mature plants
in a remote, rugged area south of San Benito Mountain near Cantua Creek.

To state and local officials, the bust was a signal that more aggressive
tactics to snuff out marijuana are working. Throughout the Bay Area,
sheriff's deputies and state narcotics agents are boasting big marijuana
raids that they attribute to increased resources, better tips from the
public and more sophisticated technology that make plants easier to spot.

In San Benito County, officials used helicopters to locate more than 12,000
pounds of the blue-green marijuana plants, growing at about 4,300 feet. San
Benito County Undersheriff Ken Brown said deputies and authorities with the
state's Department of Justice Campaign Against Marijuana Planting were in
the process yesterday of removing most of the plants from the San Benito
mountainside.

The plants were cut down, airlifted by helicopter to another location and
buried, he said. About 30 deputies and agents with the Unified Narcotic
Enforcement Team have been working to eradicate the plants since Thursday.
The bust was second only in size to a 1983 raid in Glenn County, which
netted more than 60,000 plants. "It's a lot of dope," Brown said. "In my 30
years here, it's the most dope I've ever seen."

Last year, Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies leveled more than 21,000
nearly mature plants, which were found growing near the Calaveras Reservoir
east of Milpitas. In the last three weeks, deputies have discovered
thousands of plants in the southern portion of the county.

Sgt. Luther Pugh said a combination of anonymous tips from sources and
technology such as night-vision enable them to uncover the most remote
growth sites. Their last tip, he said, came from an outdoor enthusiast who
just happened to stumble on some marijuana plants near Mount Madonna County
Park.

"I would say there's a bit more of a commitment from law enforcement and by
the state," he said. "Our tips are also panning out better. Typically, we
would develop information from flyovers with the Air National Guard. But now
we also get tips from hikers, hunters and property owners."

In the East Bay, authorities are investigating two separate
marijuana-growing operations that were discovered within a two-week period.
On August 31, a police burglar alarm call led to the discovery of hydroponic
growing equipment and 2,000 marijuana plants worth up to $2 million at a
small warehouse on 29th Street in Oakland. On Saturday, hikers found a
500-plant marijuana farm in the hills above Pleasanton and scared off three
men believed to be the growers.

The plants had an estimated street value of $1 million and were supported by
an elaborate irrigation system, officials said. On the same day as the
Oakland find, Healdsburg police and a Sonoma County narcotics task force
arrested a couple on suspicion of cultivating and possessing marijuana.
Police found 50 marijuana plants and four pounds of dried marijuana worth
$20,000 inside their home on Alta Vista Drive.

Authorities uncovered the illegal operation in San Benito County after deer
hunters saw several men carrying sacks in the area of a large marijuana
garden in Cantua Creek. The men contacted a sheriff's deputy, who initiated
an investigation into the activities of the suspected growers and requested
that a helicopter fly over the area.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced yesterday that this year's state
Campaign Against Marijuana Planting will surpass all other seasons in the
17-year history of the program. This year alone, agents and officers seized
163,927 marijuana plants, made 14 arrests and confiscated 10 weapons. The
total exceeds the previous record of 166,199 plants in 1985.

"We used to think of marijuana as being individual enterprises," said
Michael Van Winkle, information officer for the California Department of
Justice. "But now, what you have are big, commercial enterprises. The drug
cartels are either Mexican drug cartels or cartels run by Mexicans in
California. Now, instead of small gardens, they hire dozens of people to
tend these very large gardens."

For several weeks, local, state and federal agents conducted surveillance of
the men. Last week, a raid led to the arrests of 10 undocumented Mexican
nationals. The men, most of whom gave a Madera address, were booked into the
San Benito County Jail on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale,
conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and carrying a loaded weapon.

Officials believe more suspects may be involved and are searching for
information that could lead to the arrest of a ringleader, said San Benito
County Sheriff Curtis Hill.

"They're working for someone else," Hill said. "These suspects had a huge
amount of work to do."