$16 MILLION POT HAUL GOES UP IN SMOKE

Officers Burn 8,000 Plants After Raid; No Arrests or Suspects

More than $16 million worth of marijuana went to the animal shelter
incinerator instead of the streets after drug agents raided eight
irrigated fields in the woods of Lancaster County, S.C., Friday.

Agents in a helicopter spotted the illicit crop near Cedar Creek Dam,
about 50 miles south of Charlotte, around 3:30 p.m. Friday, after
hours of fly-overs in the Wateree River area. The Lancaster County
Sheriff's Office does air scans four or five times a year during the
summer growing season, Lt. Lee Blackmon said.

After four hours of sweaty labor Friday evening, sheriff's deputies
and State Law Enforcement Division officers had 8,091 plants ready to
burn, a county record.

The pot farmers had cleared eight fields from forested ridges. The
largest was more than an acre. Investigators are still researching
ownership of the remote tract, but believe it's timber company land.

Officers suspect six to 12 people farmed the illegal crop; there were
no arrests or suspects Saturday, Blackmon said.

The farmers had dug holes near natural drainage ditches, lined them
with plastic and pumped the water through more than 1,000 feet of
garden hose to water their crop, Blackmon said. A nearby campsite
contained a bunk, table and food, with plant food, insecticides and
fertilizer stashed around the fields.

"(The farmers) were fairly energetic," Blackmon said. "They had to be.
We about died pulling all the plants up."

So why not hide in the woods and wait for farmers to
return?

Officers tried that after a 2002 raid in the same area, but gave up
after three or four days, Blackmon said. They suspect someone nearby
tips off growers when helicopters buzz the area.

The campsite looked like it hadn't been visited for a few days, with
sleeping bags dusty and cooking equipment showing no sign of recent
use, he added. "It is more than likely a lost cause," he said.

So officers harvested the crop and hauled it to the Lancaster County
Animal Shelter incinerator. Even if no one is arrested, they figure
they've put a dent in area pot-smoking, along with the farmers' profits.

"This is a major victory in our fight against the drug trade in
Lancaster County," said Lt. Paul Harrison, who heads the county's Drug
Task Force.