WAYNE, GREENE RAIDS STOP POT FARMS

Two unrelated operations in a three-day span netted more than 19,000
marijuana plants in Wayne and Greene counties.

The Wayne raid on June 2 was the largest marijuana plant seizure ever
in that county, with law enforcement officials eradicating more than
15,000 plants.

The plants were found in one large plot off BlackJack Church Road and
four smaller plots off Ferry Bridge Road near the Neuse River.

Lt. Tom Effler of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department said deputies
used aircraft - the sheriff's department helicopter "Raven," a
National Guard helicopter and a State Bureau of Investigation
airplane - to locate the plants.

"We have trained spotters in the helicopters," he said. "They look
for different designs and colors of the plants."

The plants ranged in size from inches to 4 feet tall. If the plants
had grown to maturity, they would have a potential street value of
more than $36 million, Effler said.

According to a press release from the SBI, a National Guard pilot was
returning to Raleigh when he spotted a large field of marijuana
plants in Wayne County on June 1.

"It's growing season," Effler said. "But it's still early. Plants
start maturing in August and September."

Effler said the hardest part of the seizure was getting to plants
down by the Neuse River. Deputies requested assistance from the N.C.
Forest Service to cut trails leading to some of the plants.

"Machetes and bush axes were used to clear paths and fight off
snakes," he said. "It made getting the plants out much easier."

About 30 people were involved in the seizure, including the Goldsboro
Police Department and the Wayne County Search and Rescue Team.

Effler said the plants were burned that afternoon.

SBI agents and the National Guard also seized 4,000 plants in Greene
County on May 31. A large plot of marijuana plants were found near
the intersection of Bullhead Road and Pope Farm Road in western Greene County.

Effler said statewide units will be flying looking for marijuana
plant operations.

"It's that time of year when everyone is going to be flying," he
said. "We're going to fly every opportunity we can get."

In 2004, 35,965 total plants were eradicated by the SBI; of those
3,393 were growing indoors. As a result, 86 arrests were made.

No arrests have been made in either county and investigations are continuing.