POT SEASON OPENS WITH LARGE HAULS

Mendocino, Lake Counties Expect Another Record-Setting Year Of
Eradicating Plants

Mendocino County is poised to match last year's record totals in pot
eradication, with 27,647 young plants seized since April, authorities
reported Wednesday.

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"It's going to be as least as much as last year," said Sheriff's
Deputy Butch Gupta, a member of the Mendocino County Marijuana
Eradication Team.

Last year, the county set a new local record with 227,019 seized
plants, he said.

Its largest pot seizure so far this year was carried out last week
near Cloverdale, where law enforcement pulled up 23,147 plants found
in five remote locations on a private ranch, Gupta said.

The plants, most of them seedlings located in the Cloverdale Peak
Road and Geysers Road areas, are believed to have been grown by
trespassers, he said.

No suspects have been identified, Gupta said.

Another eradication effort in Covelo last month yielded 4,500 plants,
also mostly seedlings, he said.

Gupta said he expects 2007 to yield at least as many illegal plants
as last year because the number of gardens has steadily grown over time.

"The only difference might be the lack of water," he said, referring
to impending drought conditions.

Statewide, Mendocino County placed third in eradication, with 135,736
plants seized between July and October, the months when the state
marijuana eradication team participates in an all-out effort.

The state does not include the county's year-round eradication
efforts in its statistics.

Lake County topped the state's pot charts last year, with 314,603
plants -- more than double the previous year's number.

Officials there also expect another record year in 2007, said Lt. Cecil Brown.

Sonoma County was seventh in pot eradication last year, with 73,460 plants.

Statewide, a record 1.7 million plants valued at $6.7 billion were
seized during the traditional outdoor pot harvest season, according
to the state Attorney General's Office.

Federal, state and local officials believe a majority of the
large-scale operations are conducted by Mexican crime families.

Law enforcement focuses on eradicating gardens cultivated by
trespassers on private and public lands because they create public
safety issues for unsuspecting people who may stumble across a
garden, Gupta said.

Two Round Valley tribal members were shot and killed last year near a
series of gardens on tribal, private and public lands near Covelo.

Their involvement with the gardens has never been clarified and the
homicides remain unsolved, although five men from Santa Rosa and
Mexico were arrested on cultivation charges in connection with the gardens.