MORE THAN $16 MILLION WORTH OF MARIJUANA DESTROYED IN CHEROKEE, CLEBURNE

An estimated $16.85 million produced from the illegal sales of marijuana
will not reach circulation after a three-day effort by agents involved in
Alabama's Marijuana Eradication Program.

Agents flying the skies of Cherokee and Cleburne counties seized and
destroyed 8,425 marijuana plants this week, law enforcement officials said.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimates the street value of one
marijuana plant to be $2,000.

No arrests had been made as of Friday in connection with any of the
discovered marijuana.

The Cherokee County Drug Task Force, the Calhoun-Cleburne County Drug Task
Force, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the Alabama National Guard and
personnel from the sheriffs offices of each county joined in the effort to
find and destroy the plants.