COPS DISCOVER 4,000 MARIJUANA PLANTS

Pot Growing Wild In Illinois Forest Preserve Near Dyer

Cook County Forest Preserve police discovered about 4,000 marijuana
plants growing wild in unincorporated Illinois after receiving a tip
from Dyer police.

Cook County Forest Preserve Police Chief Rich Waszak said police
removed the marijuana plants Saturday from the Plum Creek Forest
Preserve, near Burnham Avenue between Lynwood and Sauk Village across
the state line from Dyer. He said the street value of the plants was
between $2 million and $3 million and the plants were between 12 and
13 feet tall.

"It's a lot of marijuana," Waszak said. "The kids in the area knew
what it was."

Dyer police Detective Sgt. Dave Hein said while doing surveillance in
the area for an unrelated reason, police noticed many young people
parking in the 2800 block of Forest Park Drive on the Indiana side of
the state line. He said the young people would then walk into the
forest preserve, where they would handpick the marijuana.

"We were noticing a large amount of traffic into the forest
preserve," Hein said.

Hein said police also questioned an adult male in possession of
marijuana, who told them he got the drug from the forest preserve.

"It would seem to be a large supplier for our Dyer area," Hein said
of the wild plants.

Hein said Dyer police told the Cook County Forest Preserve police on
Friday about the marijuana. He said they quickly responded and
removed the plants the following day.

Waszak said police have removed marijuana from the spot before. He
said these plants produce a large amount of seeds, so it is possible
for the plants to grow in the wild.

"They could have been re-growth," Waszak said. "It wasn't being cared for."

Waszak said the plants were destroyed at the Forest Preserve police
headquarters in a well-ventilated area.