Marijuana plants spotted from sky: Sheriff’s chopper put in use for first time this season
After eclipsing its record with over 4,000 plants last year, the sheriff’s department marijuana eradication team got an early jump on the season Saturday morning, seizing 300 plants atop Harrison Ferry Mountain.
Along with marijuana, the team was also rewarded with another bonus for its efforts – that being two meth labs found near the marijuana patch.
According to Sheriff Jackie Matheny, the find was made during the team’s maiden mission this season using one of the department’s helicopters. The department has two helicopters which were donated several years ago by the federal government for drug eradication.
The sheriff’s department normally flies more than 20 missions during the marijuana growing season which begins in April and May. The team generally flies into the month of September and has accounted for the seizure of over 14,000 plants during its five seasons in existence.
In the case of Saturday’s find, spotters sighted the small plants from the air. It was around the same time the meth labs were located nearby from the air. A closer investigation revealed the marijuana was still in containers, leading lawmen to believe the planters were about to transplant the marijuana into the ground.
“Most marijuana growers will be planting soon if they haven’t already, so we were going ahead and getting a jump on them this year,” Matheny said.