$221,000 WORTH OF MARIJUANA PLANTS SEIZED IN OTTAWA COUNTY

Authorities pulled $221,000 worth of marijuana plants grown in rural
and agricultural areas across Ottawa County, the largest seizure in
recent years, a drug task force agent said.

The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and Ottawa
County Drug Task Force used a helicopter to spot the plants during
the annual Marijuana Eradication program. A ground crew of agents
then pushed through weeds and cornfields to dig up the plants.

Each plant is worth an estimated $1,000 and could yield two pounds of
marijuana, said Don St. Clair, Ottawa County Drug Task Force agent.
"In Ottawa County, two pounds would go for $2,000 to $2,800," St. Clair said.

Areas in Portage Township yielded the most plants, with 126 found
behind the Ottawa County minimum security jail at the city limit and
in two locations off State Road, he said. Agents pulled 221 plants
from the entire county.

"They looked like the same person or group was tending the plants,"
he said. "They had chicken wire around them to protect them from
animals. They were definitely being taken care of."

Agents have not found the owner of the plants.

"It is not uncommon for people to use someone else's land," he said.
"If they used their own land, it would be easier to trace it to them."

A minor misdemeanor charge is likely against a resident who admitted
to owning a single plant found in the 1600 block of Moline Martin
Road in the west end of the county, he said.