In each of the past two months the United Narcotic Enforcement
Team has made significant seizures of marijuana in San Benito
County.
In each of the past two months the United Narcotic Enforcement Team has made significant seizures of marijuana in San Benito County.
In August, agents found and destroyed $400,000 worth of high-grade pot at one site. Last week a raid netted the confiscation of $500,000 worth of pot and the arrest of two men. In July 10,434 plants were seized in Aromas.
In some circles it isn’t cool to applaud UNET for making this effort, but we’re grateful and hope the team continues to make inroads in preventing rural San Benito County from gaining a reputation as a free and easy place to cultivate marijuana and operate farms.
It should also be noted that UNET made the busts without firing a shot or destroying the landscape. They efficiently eradicated the kind of farming that often involves degradation of the environment and the total disdain of anything resembling a legal permit process.
Also, it is illegal. Regardless of one’s personal stance on the legalization of marijuana, it is a drug; it is currently illegal.
The UNET busts also should be noted for their size. These were not backyard plants plucked for a nice little publicity photo. The August bust yielded 10,300 plants, with each plant possibly able to produce as much as three pounds of high-grade sinsemilla buds. The confiscation last week was of 2,762 plants.
And if you are thinking that these are harmless operations, remember that last week during the bust one of the arrested men dropped a loaded rifle before fleeing. Growing pot is not fun and games. It is big business. It involves chemicals, and often armed guards. Innocent people can get hurt.
We applaud UNET’s effort at preventing our county from gaining a reputation as a haven for pot farming. Let’s let other counties, up north and down south, continue to carry the mantle for being known as easier locations for producing illegal drugs. It is critical to note that in 1999, according to law enforcement statistics, more marijuana was confiscated in San Benito County than any other county in California.
That isn’t what we want to be known for. So we support the effort of UNET and the San Benito and Santa Clara county sheriff’s officers and departments who help them out.
