HELICOPTERS COLLECT MARIJUANA PLANTS WITH NETS

SKYFOREST- Law enforcement officials raided a mountain pot farm in
the San Bernardino National Forest on Monday, with two helicopters
dropping five or six nets that can each hold about 200 pounds of
marijuana plants, officials said.

The marijuana eradication operation combines efforts of the San
Bernardino County Sheriff's Department with the state Bureau of
Narcotic Enforcement's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting task
force, which have been conducting aerial surveillance over the canyon
below Heap's Peak for about two months, said Jodie Miller,
spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department.

"Outdoor marijuana growth is most prevalent in the months from April
to typically the end of October, so it is routine that aerial
surveillance is conducted, and that's how this cultivation site was
located," Miller said.

Two helicopters were dedicated to Monday's plant removal operation,
along with 15 law enforcement officials who hiked into in the canyon
below Heap's Peak - the only way to reach the marijuana farm.

Three arrests in connection with the pot farm were made early last
week, and there may be additional suspects, Miller said, but
information about them was unavailable.

At least two camp sites where people tend to live in order to
maintain and protect the plants were identified at the pot farm,
Miller said.

Information about the amount of marijuana plants and their value will
not be available until the team returns from the field, Miller said.

Officials were still out in the field at 6 p.m. Monday, and they
started their trek to eradicate the marijuana fields as early as 5
a.m., Miller said.