MORE MARIJUANA FOUND IN MCDOWELL

WELCH - Authorities in McDowell County are experiencing
"marijuana-mania," as they again uncovered several thousand dollars
worth of the illegal plants.

Although the peak growing season is still weeks away, authorities
have located marijuana plants in five different locations across the
county in the past few days. The most recent plants were discovered
by Deputy R.K. Auville with assistance by the Southern Regional Drug
and Violent Crimes Task Force, Sheriff Danny Mitchell said.

"We are not in the peak season yet," Mitchell said. "We won't hit the
peak season until August. But what you are getting is your small
plants. You are getting them in their first stages of growth. We have
been lucky. We've had a lot of information from people in the
communities that are helping us out and help us to take care of the problem."

Auville found 20 marijuana plants near the top of Coon Branch
Mountain after acting upon a anonymous tip. The street value of the
crop is about $2,000 a plant. Auville and the task force members also
recovered an additional 32 marijuana plants with a street value of up
to $2,000 per crop in the Three Forks area of the county while
working on an unrelated investigation.

Auville said an ongoing investigation is continuing with charges pending.

Although a helicopter is normally used each year to help locate the
illegal plants, Mitchell said help from the public is critical.

"Once a year normally the National Guard will come down with the
state police and we will do fly-overs, and we have found some pretty
large patches in the past," Mitchell said. "But mostly we get
information from people in the community. A lot of your hunters -
your ginseng hunters - will find them. We are also getting some
indoor grows, but normally it is the first part of the year. We
appreciate the information we receive from the communities, and we
hope to continue to have your support in giving us information, and
helping us to stop it."

Troopers with the Welch Detachment of the West Virginia State Police
netted marijuana plants with a street value of more than $104,000
during the course of two raids over the weekend. That amount grew on
Tuesday as Sgt. G.A. Bishop, commander of the Welch Detachment of the
West Virginia State Police joined McDowell County Conservation
Officer Gabriel Wood confiscated 20 marijuana plants at an
undisclosed remote location in the county.