Thread: CA $16 million marijuana haul near Ojai

$16 million marijuana haul near Ojai
By From staff reports
Originally published 03:09 p.m., May 23, 2009
Updated 03:09 p.m., May 23, 2009

Law-enforcement personnel Friday destroyed a $16 million marijuana crop growing in Matilija Canyon near Ojai, a week after three men were arrested on suspicion of helping to cultivate it, officials said.

More than 11,000 marijuana plants were being grown in two locations in the canyon, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Arrested were Doroteo Hernandez, 30, of Rialto; Carmelo Hernandez, 34, of Rialto; and Custodio Ramirez, 34, of Lancaster.

In April, sheriff’s narcotics detectives discovered the two large marijuana cultivation sites. One site, located south of Matilija Lake, was used as a nursery where several hundred seedlings were found. The second site was about three miles west of the entrance to the canyon and one mile south of Matilija Canyon Road.

On May 15, detectives conducting surveillance of Matilija Canyon Road and Highway 33 saw two people running from the brush and getting into a vehicle driven by a third person. The three men were arrested and booked into county jail.

On Friday, members of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit, Sheriff’s Air Unit, U.S.Forest Service, and the California Department of Fish and Game eradicated both sites, destroying 11,100 plants, which measured about six to 12 inches tall.

Officials said the landscape had been altered by terracing the hillsides and diverting water supplies to the multiple growing locations. Trash, fertilizer and camping equipment were spread throughout the area.

No additional suspects were located.

All three men are in jail on felony charges of cultivating marijuana, and all three have an immigration hold preventing their release on bail because they are suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. Their next scheduled court date is May 29.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2 ... near-ojai/

But the plants have such pretty leaves!