DEPUTIES SEIZE MORE MARIJUANA

So far this year, the Moore County Sheriff's Department has seized more
than 1,000 marijuana plants - the most in five years.

Deputies suspect that the same person or group was growing more than half
of the plants.

The average annual number of plants seized in Moore County is between 500
and 600, said Lt. Gerald Seawell, the lead officer of the sheriff's
Narcotics Unit. As of Friday, deputies had seized 1,016 plants throughout
the county.

"It's the best year we've had in five years," Seawell said. "In 1999, I
think we had over 1,100."

On Thursday, an anonymous tip led officers to four plants that were some of
the largest they had ever seen. The biggest was 14 feet tall, and together
the plants weighed 120 pounds.

Because of the large size, Seawell valued the plants at $50,000. Usually,
each plant is valued at between $1,000 and $4,000. The plants were found on
South Plank Road near the Moore-Lee county line.

Part of the increase, both in sheer numbers and the size of the plants, is
due to the weather. It's been a wet year, and the plants have had plenty of
rain.

Deputies have found six different marijuana fields that have enough
similarities that they believe the same suspects were growing them. At each
one of these fields, there have been 70 to 100 plants. These suspects are
truly marijuana farmers, Seawell said.

These people assume that law enforcement is going to find some of their
crop. They solve the problem by planting as many marijuana plants as they
can wherever they can find suitable land, Seawell said.

Call them "Johnny Pot Seed."

"They already know up front that they will lose some plants to us," Seawell
said. "They'll be able to harvest some. It's pretty much impossible for us
to get all of them. . They feel really comfortable."

Growers like that are difficult to catch. Detectives can check land
ownership records, but often, if they don't actually catch someone on the
scene, it's difficult to find a link to them. For instance, the Sheriff's
Department knows very little about the pot farmers who are responsible for
the majority of the plants seized this year.

Marijuana farmers like to use plots that have recently been cut for lumber,
Seawell said, and have been replanted with immature pines. Later, when the
pines grow, their height and canopy helps hide the marijuana crop from
search helicopters.

Deputies work with the North Carolina National Guard and the SBI several
times a year to conduct what they call "eradication operations." The
National Guard helicopter is the main investigative tool, Seawell said.

As they did Thursday, deputies also will check out tips on foot. But they
can't just go running into a marijuana field, Seawell said. There is always
a chance of booby traps. It's been several years since deputies have found
a booby trap, but they are careful nonetheless.

As always, Sheriff Lane Carter encourages people to phone in with tips. The
Sheriff's Department phone number is 947-2931, and the Narcotics Unit is at
947-2090.

There is still the possibility that the Sheriff's Department will surpass
the numbers from 1999, because many growers won't harvest the marijuana
crop until October or November when the growing season ends.

The seized marijuana would have been sold in Moore County, deputies said.