San Benito County was ranked as one of the top 10 counties in
the state for the illegal production of marijuana, according to
newly released statistics from the Attorney General’s office.
Only nine counties in the state had more marijuana plants seized
by agents with the state’s Campaign Against Marijuana Production
program than were seized in San Benito County in 2002.
San Benito County was ranked as one of the top 10 counties in the state for the illegal production of marijuana, according to newly released statistics from the Attorney General’s office.
Only nine counties in the state had more marijuana plants seized by agents with the state’s Campaign Against Marijuana Production program than were seized in San Benito County in 2002.
CAMP agents, along with members of the Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team, a local drug task force, and the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department seized 9,599 illegal pot plants with an approximate street value of $38.4 million. That was nearly 3,300 more marijuana plants than what was seized in Santa Clara County and about 6,300 more than what was seized in neighboring Monterey County.
Despite the number of plants discovered in the county last year, it was considerably less than the 18,700 marijuana plants seized in 2001.
Sheriff Curtis Hill said that was a positive step forward as the county moved down from the sixth-largest producer of marijuana a year ago.
“It’s good to see that we are moving down that list,” Hill said. “We are already beginning to work on seizing more plants this year.”
Hill said the sheriff’s department’s focus is not solely on
seizing marijuana plants, but growers as well.
“We are going to continue to work those cases and hope to catch these people who are responsible for this,” he said.
Hill said deputies will work along side CAMP agents just as they have in the past.
Under the direction of the state’s Department of Justice, the CAMP program brings together officers from nearly 70 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to locate and eradicate large outdoor marijuana operations in remote areas during the height of harvesting season. The marijuana growing season starts in mid-April, with harvests ending in late September or early October.
“With each season we are perfecting techniques to locate and eradicate large marijuana planting operations,” CAMP Director Val Jimenez said in a written statement. “It isn’t that there are more plants out there, we’re better at finding the gardens.”
During the past few years, CAMP agents have been finding more illegal gardens on public lands. Last year, 56 percent of the plants seized were from national forests and other public recreational areas. Operations hidden on public lands put California’s outdoor enthusiasts in danger of stumbling upon gardens protected by armed sentries.
In its 20-year history, agents with the CAMP program, have eradicated more than 3 million plants with an estimated street value of $12 billion. In the 2002 season, CAMP seized a record 354,164 plants worth more than $1.4 billion.
