MARIJUANA SEIZURES UP FROM LAST YEAR WITH MONTH OF ERADICATION REMAINING

In the thick of California's illegal marijuana harvest season, agents have
seized 742,684 plants with an estimated street value of more than $2.6
billion, already surpassing last year's season total by 20 percent,
authorities said.

And the state Department of Justice's annual Campaign Against Marijuana
Planting, or CAMP, is still a month away from wrapping up operations after
the season peak at the end of September.

The raids, many in remote, forested terrain, pit agents against often
heavily armed guards protecting their marijuana plots.

About three weeks ago, a grower was shot dead and a state Fish and Game
warden was wounded during a raid on a 22,000-plant pot farm in the hills
above Los Gatos.

It was the fourth suspect to die in a marijuana raid shootout with
authorities in the past three years and the first time a law enforcement
officer has been shot in CAMP's 22-year history.

As growing operations flourish on public lands throughout the state, more
and more hikers and outdoor enthusiasts are coming into contact with armed
guards protecting their plots, authorities said.

"It scares the hell out of people," said Bob Cooke, special agent in charge
for the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in San Jose.

Authorities say Mexican drug cartels have moved into the state in recent
years, expanding operations into multimillion-dollar gardens. And the drug
lords are hiring armed guards, including violent street gang veterans, to
protect their profits.

"The same people who bring you coke, methamphetamine and heroin are
responsible for these groves," said BNA Special Agent Richard Camps,
commander of a CAMP task force targeting growers from San Mateo County to
Monterey.