$10 MILLION IN POT FOUND IN VERDUGO MOUNTAINS

Police seized some 5,000 marijuana plants with an estimated street
value of $10 million this morning found nestled in the Verdugo
Mountains above Glendale.

A helicopter scouring the area for signs of fires on Tuesday found
spotted an "unusual patch of greenery," said Glendale Police Officer
John Balian. Narcotics detectives hiked up the mountain and
discovered a sophisticated marijuana farm throughout the area. The
operators had designed a watering system using the water from a tower
that was designed to be used in case of brush fires, Balian said.
Police also seized a sleeping bag, rifle scopes, and rifle bullets
from nearby, but no suspects were in custody.

"As far as we know, they're long gone," Balian said. "We're not going
to tolerate marijuana farms in the city of Glendale. Obviously they
are not conducting a legitimate business up there. They're doing
illegal activity."

The Glendale Police Department, in a "joint task force" with the
Burbank Police and Glendale Fire Department, worked through the day
to remove nearly one acre of marijuana from the Verdugo Mountains
above Crescenta Valley Park in Glendale.

The marijuana is of a very high quality known as "Sensimillia"
because the buds on the plant have no seeds, said Glendale Sgt. Tom
Lorenz, who estimated the street value of the plants at $10 million.
The plants were cut down and flown out of the mountains by
helicopter, and then loaded into a dump truck, headed to a special
drug burn site in Long Beach.