OFFICIALS CONDUCT DRUG SWEEP IN CLEBURNE COUNTY

By late Wednesday, 16,493 marijuana plants had been removed from the soil
of rural Cleburne County, according to the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office
and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.

One arrest had been made and a second was pending, officials said. Since
Monday, members of several law enforcement agencies and the Alabama
National Guard have flown the skies of Cleburne County, looking for the plants.

Those agencies include the Alabama Department of Public Safety, the Alabama
Bureau of Investigation, the Calhoun/Cleburne County Drug Task Force and
the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office

Their efforts are part of Alabama's marijuana eradication program, led by
the state's Department of Public Safety.

"We feel like we've gotten a lot of marijuana off the streets that would be
destined for the community and the surrounding communities," said Alabama
Bureau of Investigation Cpl. Jay Howell.

Each marijuana plant has a street value of $2,000, according to the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration, which means about $33 million of marijuana
will not be sold on the streets of Cleburne county and the surrounding area.

Cleburne County Sheriff Darrell Durham said he is pleased to know the drugs
won't reach the streets, but he knows much work remains.

"I don't know if you could call it a dent or not, because there's so much
(marijuana) out there," Durham said. "It's a good week for the eradication,
and a bad day for the two guys."

An 18-year-old Fruithurst man was arrested Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge
for possession of marijuana. He posted bond Wednesday, Durham said.

A second arrest was pending Wednesday. That suspect was expected to face
federal charges of manufacturing marijuana for resale, Durham said.

If arrested and convicted, the suspect would face, at minimum, a mandatory
three-year sentence. Additional time, to be served consecutively, is added
to a sentence depending on the plants' vicinity to such public facilities
as schools and Housing and Urban Development property, Durham said. A
minimum fine of $25,000 accompanies conviction, he said.

Part of the good news for Cleburne County and the sheriff's office is that
the county often receives the property marijuana producers lose after a
conviction, Durham said.

Any property, including cars, houses and land, purchased with drug money or
used to house or grow marijuana, is often condemned and returned to the
control of the sheriff's office, Durham said. The sheriff's office then can
sell the property and use the proceeds for drug prevention equipment,
Durham said.

In the past 10 years, about $35,000 has been returned to law enforcement in
Cleburne County through this seizure and condemnation process. Last week,
the sheriff's office received $5,000 through a seizure process, Durham said.