Deputies "harvest" more than $180 million worth of marijuana from rural Kern County
| Friday, Jul 10 2009 04:28 PM
Last Updated Friday, Jul 10 2009 05:42 PM
How much is it all worth?
Last year local deputies seized an estimated 180,000 marijuana plants.
How much those plants were worth can vary depending on their size. Immature plants have recently been valued at roughly $2,500 per plant, while full grown plants are closer to $4,000 per plant.
Based on those numbers, last year's seizures would range in value from $450 million to more than $720 million.
Where do we stack up?
According to the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, Kern County was tenth in marijuana seizures in 2008.
At the top of the list was Lake County in Northern California followed by Tulare County in second. Fresno County was number six.
Images
Sheriff photograph - Some marijuana plants found on a ranch in a remote spot on the Breckenridge Mountains. The officers were alerted to the problem when the ranch noticed the water supply for its cattle was being diverted. More than 10,000 plants were taken from the area, deputies said.
When county officials recently unveiled their list of the top crops grown in Kern County last year they may have left off one of the biggest.
Marijuana.
So far this summer, local deputies have "harvested" pot said to be worth roughly $186 million from some remote corners of the county.
That tally would have made marijuana Kern County's 9th biggest crop in 2008, just behind pistachios ($192 million) and ahead of potatoes ($93 million).
Although it's impossible to make exact comparisons because the county's crop figures are based on wholesale prices for goods sold while the pot numbers are based on law enforcement's estimated "street" value, the comparison gives a sense of magnitude to the crop's value.
And there is almost certainly more officials have not found -- yet.
"There are a lot of remote areas in this county, a lot of areas off the beaten path," said Senior Deputy Michael Whorf.
The local pot growing season doesn't end until September or October, Whorf said. Last year deputies seized roughly 180,000 plants, he said.
So far this summer deputies have made at least nine busts and found more than 57,000 plants.
The latest bust happened Wednesday morning when deputies from the major violators unit swarmed a cattle ranch near Caliente.
They nabbed three suspects, three guns and 12,169 plants. Two suspects were able to slip away.
Like other growing operations, the suspects had clear cut a section of remote land and planted their crops. They were in the process of harvesting the marijuana when deputies descended on the operation.
The location was so remote, a helicopter was needed to fly out the suspects and the marijuana, which is common with these kinds of operations.
Even though they are usually in remote locations, some operations can be quite complex.
In a June bust near Glennville, deputies found the growers had installed hundreds of feet of irrigation line and even built some makeshift dams to support more than 2,100 plants.
Another grower chopped down a section of the Kern National Wildlife Refuge and tapped into local water supplies before the nearly 250 plants were discovered in June.
The largest bust of the year came just a few weeks ago, on June 29, when deputies found more than 15,000 fully grown plants near Havilah.
Like most busts, no suspects were found at the site. So far, deputies have nabbed suspects at only three of the nine busts they have publicized. All told they have made 13 arrests this summer, Whorf said.
So how do deputies find these operations if they are so remote?
In most cases the deputies are tipped off by people in the area, Whorf said.
In one case a cattle rancher discovered his water was being diverted by the suspects. In another a rancher noticed someone had been crossing his land, leaving a trail.
Deputies also look for marijuana grows from the air, Whorf said.
