Document text
Click Here 42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, January 31, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 19, 2003 Feds get details on Jo County pot bust JOINT seized 5,500 plants in sophisticated underground growing operations in Cave Junction and Hugo By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune The Josephine County Interagency Narcotics Team has sent federal prosecutors in Eugene detailed reports about several major underground marijuana-growing operations discovered last week. Big bunkers in Cave Junction and Hugo contained nearly 5,500 plants potentially capable of producing tens of million of dollars worth of pot, officials said. Josephine County sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Ken Selig said investigators spent this week finishing paperwork on the giant bust and forwarding reports to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Eugene. Josephine Interagency Narcotics Team (JOINT) detectives worked two years gathering information about underground marijuana-growing sites in Josephine County, Selig said. On Dec. 11 they made their move. Sixty officers from numerous agencies swept in to search two addresses in Cave Junction and one in Wolf Creek. On Reeves Creek Road in Cave Junction, officers found an underground bunker measuring 50 feet by 50 feet with 3,500 marijuana plants growing inside. A second, larger bunker was under construction at the site, Selig said. Advertisement A smaller underground growing facility was found on Westside Road in Cave Junction. It had 50 plants inside. The third property searched that day on Coyote Creek Road in Wolf Creek wasn’t a growing site, but had some packaged marijuana and other evidence, he said. Two days later, investigators with JOINT and the Drug Enforcement Administration searched property in the 600 block of Jack Creek Road, Hugo, and found another large underground grow. This bunker was 12 feet underground, measured 50 feet by 50 feet and had four chambers with 1,940 plants inside, Selig said. A 12-foot-by-20-foot drying shed also was found on the property. The first underground chamber had 1,080 immature plants in it, he said. As the plants matured, the growers apparently moved them into other chambers, where larger plants were found, he said. The chambers’ ceilings were 8 feet tall, giving the plants plenty of room to grow, he said. Outdoors in the summer, pot plants typically grow about 12 feet high. Selig said the nearly 5,500 plants seized each could have produced at least a pound of processed marijuana. On the street, a pound of marijuana sells for between $2,000 and $4,000, he said. Investigators believe the pot was destined for markets in California, where it would have been distributed by an organized network. However, it’s likely that some would have found customers in Southern Oregon, Selig said. "It’s a business like any other for these people," he said, explaining that a major supplier might produce mainly for large dealers outside the area, but still sell to local customers. "A few pounds could have ended up on the streets of Southern Oregon." Officers also seized $292,597 from the growing sites, Selig said. Most was found in a small safe at the Westside Road property and two bundles of cash were found at other locations. No arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation, Selig said. Federal prosecutors will review the cases; they decide whether to file federal charges. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times