FEDS SAY CARTELS MOVING POT OPERATIONS TO UTAH

More than 90,000 marijuana plants were seized this year in rural Utah,
and police say drug cartels may be planning more pot farms for next
summer.

Federal drug enforcers say cartels accustomed to the West Coast appear
to have moved some operations to Utah, which has a suitable climate
and relative proximity to California and Mexico.

"These are large-scale, narco-traffickers," said Scott Burns, the
deputy "drug czar" at the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.
"These are the big guys."

Beginning in mid-August, federal and local law enforcement raided a
slew of marijuana fields. The latest seizure came Oct. 18, when deer
hunters found a pot farm in Sanpete County. But on Thursday, a special
agent for the U.S. Forest Service said a rancher reported finding a
harvested marijuana field in the Dixie National Forest, and it appears
the growers got away with the crop.

At least seven people accused of tending the fields or delivering
supplies have been arrested.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has said the marijuana likely
was destined for out-of-state metropolitan areas.

Utah's appeal to pot farmers may result from tighter borders and
successful crackdowns in other states. When the federal government
increased security at the Mexican border after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks, Mexican cartels moved their marijuana-growing operations into
the United States, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center.

Burns, a former Iron County prosecutor, said the federal government
has emphasized eradicating marijuana fields from seven big-producing
states: California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Tennessee, Kentucky
and West Virginia. The focus has increased seizures and hurt the
cartels, Burns said.

Burns says cartels moved to Utah because of the vast, secluded public
lands. Burns said previous experience with marijuana-growing
operations has shown cartels look at maps for suitable spots then send
someone to conduct reconnaissance.

Michael Root, a supervisory special agent with the DEA, said some of
the Utah fields were built around springs. At other fields, Root said,
the growers created irrigation systems. Root said federal agents and
police have found fields with narrow plastic pipes connected to creeks
a half-mile away.

Burns said many of the marijuana-growing cartels are from Michoacan,
Mexico, and that's where they recruit the field hands. In most cases,
the workers know they are being smuggled into the U.S. to grow
marijuana, Burns said, though they may not know the top bosses or the
name of the cartel.

In the U.S., the workers are taken to the fields and left there for
months at a time. Burns said the field hands can earn $5,000 to
$10,000 for three months of tending and living beside the marijuana.

The DEA has said it found some Utah marijuana plots this year by
following a man who delivered supplies. But that delivery man never
visited the fields found in Sanpete County and another found in Sevier
County. That indicates there are multiple cartels growing marijuana in
Utah, said Jeff Whatcott, commander of Central Utah Narcotics Task
Force. Whatcott said he and his colleagues are discussing how to be
proactive, find existing fields and police his six-county area against
new plantings.

"It's still like looking for a needle in a haystack," Whatcott
said.

Burns said Utah and federal authorities need to fly more aircraft
looking for marijuana and educate hunters, hikers and outdoor
enthusiasts on signs of a marijuana field. "It might take a couple
years to send a message [to the cartels], 'Don't come here,' " Burns
said.