Deputies: We pulled up Mexican drug cartel's pot
By KATU News and KATU.com Staff




Story Published: Aug 21, 2010 at 6:30 PM PDT
Story Updated: Aug 21, 2010 at 6:30 PM PDT

SWEET HOME, Ore. – Deputies raided a marijuana-growing operation they say is linked to a Mexican drug cartel on private timberland in Linn County Thursday.

During the raid they seized nearly 1,000 plants and a pound of marijuana. However, they missed out on the two gardeners who ran away and escaped capture.

Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller said detectives pulled 920 mature marijuana plants from property south of Sweet Home off Brush Creek Road.

Detectives had been investigating the growing operation for some time. They say two workers lived in a tent at the site. It appeared they had been living there for a couple months, Mueller said.

Linn County Sheriff's Office detectives and members of the Linn County Regional SWAT team entered the garden on Thursday.

Deputies said two Hispanic males fled from the garden and into the surrounding brush. Deputies and a tracking dog attempted to track them for some distance but were unsuccessful.

Deputies, with assistance from the Linn County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, cut and removed the 920 plants on Friday.

They also said they found more than a pound of processed marijuana in the campsite.

The sheriff's office was assisted by the Lebanon Police Department, Sweet Home Police Department, Albany Police Department, DEA and BLM.



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