To quote the much heralded Heraldo, there was “
Little new info on pot busts
,” yesterday, and as a result (and because Hank was not around to man the front lines), the Blogthing was quiet. The couple of dozen or so agencies involved in the big sweep issued a “joint” statement, which you’ll find below. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The KHUM/K-Slug news team was on the story all day, and asked a bunch of questions of their own, but one must accept the simple reality that government flaks thrive on obfuscation and are not in the business of spilling the beans.Today KMUD is on the story nonstop, with some of those raided talking anonymously about what they’re going through.
You’ll find all sorts of guess work bubbling on various blogs regarding what happened and how (Heraldo’s afternoon post on the “Joint news” has received over 130 comments). Some of the chatter there and on Craiglist is seemingly informed, some paranoid, some is completely wrong-headed. Mostly you find people with questions about how the big bust came together, who’s to blame, and what happens next. The feds have said repeatedly that they’re not after medical grows, but as the
spokesman explained to the Times Standard
(and I paraphrase) 215 ain’t federal law.
A personal observation: A lot of manpower (and tax money) went into this operation, which according to the p.r. folks netted something like 10,000 plants. Is that a lot? Not really.
Humboldt County Sheriff stats
for last year showed, “a total of 355,122 marijuana plants were seized from both indoor and outdoor marijuana grow sites.” Law enforcment officials consistantly admit that the pot they grab is just the tip of the iceburg.
How much money does marijuana pour into the local economy? Your guess is as good as mine.
What do you think?
Joint News Release
June 25, 2008 4:20 p.m.
Operation ‘Southern Sweep’ Targets Commercial Marijuana Growers
Around 7 a.m. Tuesday approximately 450 local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel
executed 29 search warrants in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties. The warrants stemmed from
a nearly two-year investigation targeting a large commercial marijuana cultivation and distribution
organization.Law enforcement officers raided grow houses and residences in Shelter Cove, Whitethorn, Redway, Ettersburg, Garberville, Miranda, Phillipsville, Arcata, and McKinleyville. They also secured and are searching almost 2000 acres in southern Humboldt County and northern Mendocino County belonging to the targets of the investigation.
Over the course of Tuesday’s activity, officers located around ten thousand marijuana plants estimated to be worth between $25 and $60 million on the street. They seized 30 firearms, including fully automatic weapons, one vehicle, and over $160 thousand in cash. No charges have been filed and none of the targets of the investigation were arrested during yesterday’s raids. However, FBI agents arrested one man for assault on a federal agent during the execution of the search warrants.
“This is not a medical marijuana operation or a group of people growing for personal use,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Charlene B. Thornton. “It’s a large-scale, for-profit, commercial business. The targets of our investigation are reaping huge profits while contributing to the crime and violence oppressing communities across the state.”
California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Sara Marie Simpson said, “Californians voted for reasonable personal use of medicinal marijuana for qualified patients—not massive wholesale growing operations. When large quantities of cash start changing hands, crime and violence soon follow and that will not be tolerated by law enforcement.”
Beginning in early 2006, members of BNE’s Redding regional office initiated an investigation into a California-based organization which had purchased a large parcel of mountainous land in the southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino County areas, and was suspected of growing large amounts of marijuana on the land and selling it for profit. Due to the large scale and scope of the investigation, BNE invited the FBI to participate.
Upon checking the area, agents located numerous buildings and greenhouses on the properties. No building permits had been issued for any of the structures on the properties. A review of aerial photos showed construction and grading in the area had increased year to year. Investigators believed the subjects were working together on the rural properties to grow marijuana to be sold for profit.
This investigation has been a cooperative effort between the FBI, BNE, Internal Revenue Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, California Highway Patrol, California National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, United States Forest Service, Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, California Department of Fish and Game, Eureka Police Department, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, and the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.
CA DOJ/BNE task forces included the North and South Butte Interagency Narcotic Task Force, Tehama Interagency Drug Enforcement, Glenn Interagency Narcotic Task Force, Shasta Interagency Narcotic Task Force, Siskiyou County Interagency Narcotic Task Force, Humboldt County Drug Task Force, Mendocino County Major Crimes Task Force, San Jose Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team, and the Madera County Narcotic Enforcement Team.
This article appears in Can’t Swim.
Funny how they can never tell the public how much their ziga-agency operation costs, but while still in the middle of “processing evidence” they already have a dollar figure (wildly inflated, of course) for how much “street value” they claim to have confiscated.
I did a rough estimate 10,000 plants generously at a pound a piece(large numbers of plants don’t generally yield the same as small gardens with carefully maintained plants)–generously at 3500 per pound. (Outdoor marijuana brings a great deal less) and came up with $35m. I can’t even figure how they came up with $60million street value. I tried to figure best case scenario and only came up with half their top end.
They always have to just use propaganda against this amazing drug… one day patients will get their medicine Here is a great medical marijuana source.
kym,
do you know how many plants were taken at the salmon creek raid?
Marijuana is harmless compared to the scourge of crystal meth in Northern California. How about respecting California’s Prop 215, and going after the methamphetamine labs instead? It’s been reported there are as many as 50 meth labs near the mouth of the Klamath River, yet law enforcement never takes any action there:
http://goodneighborlaw.com/articles_GNL/2007/7-18CauseSalmonDeaths.htm
Excerpts:
According to the Del Norte Sheriff’s Department, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department and Larry Hand of the California Conservation Corps (CCC), a CCC crew run by John Buttons discovered several large glass flasks used for cooking methamphetamine on Ohpah Creek, a tributary of the Klamath River just 21 miles from the mouth of the river. The flasks were found in the summer of 2002 and were left on Simpson Timber Company land above the Ohpah Creek Ranch. It now turns out the flasks were part of what is known as a “meth dump.” That is where the unused residue and cooking utensils from labs are discarded. A Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department official used a recent dumpsite at Colusa, to explain, “Mexican nationals had dumped their old chemicals and supplies into an irrigation canal.”
Two persons interviewed claimed there are five meth labs between Weitchpec and the river mouth. One of the labs is known to both civilian and law enforcement as the “Crystal Palace.” When asked, one Siskiyou County law enforcement official said, “If the truth were know, there are probably 50 labs.” … The entire 41 miles of river between Weitchpec and the river mouth has no roads and is completely isolated from any civilization.
There are dozens of documented cases of Mexican and Asian drug cartels using remote areas to both grow marijuana, and manufacture meth. These cases include the Klamath River area. This has resulted in concerns for the safety of all users; either national forests and/or Bureau of Land Management lands or those who simply explore for recreation.
depends on how your selling the weed, if your in south mission in SF, then you can get a lot for a little, hence the larger price..if you selling bulk…you get a smaller price…come on now, learned that in 8th grade.
the weed has to be real to get money for it….has anyone seen any plants hauled out of whitethorn? island mountain? any pictures?
it’s fucking embarassing to see an editor give endless praise to an anonymous blogger for making him look like a total idiot.
I haven’t seen any plants or talked to anyone who has.
have to agree with anon 2:38pm. Hank what is your deal? You have a serious crush on Herlado. Why not just give him your job, the way you talk him up so relentlessly.
Did Josh Hedlund narc these people?
I can see where they came up with their figures…THEY’RE WEIGHING IT WET!
$3500 for outdoor. more like $2200
and for all you math majors that would be $22 million. If they let those plants mature and sold it they would barely cover the cost of their operation..
NO pot was found for sale!!! the feds would have reported it right away, like they did with the imaginary 10ooo and the $160,000 in cash.
the raid was a failure, thats why the feds have not come out with any new info……they raided a “pot distribution ring” that had NO pot!!!! lol
I have got the word that the feds are watching people who have not been busted. From what I under stood some people are being investigated for assosiation, they did not even know the people involved in this big operation. Some one has rolled. Just because the majority of the fed are leaving today dose not mean that the investigation, or the raids are over. Remember it took them two years to investigate it might take another two years to bust you. USE CAUTION
It seems that the involvement of all those local agencies was to hook them up with Federal money. That might even be a large factor in the obvious overkill of this operation. I noticed in the LA Times site that 500 agents ran an operation on the Doyle St. gang on Wednesday. Something like 76 arrests. Lots of Feds and, I suspect, Federal money. Ten SWAT teams went in. Now this is a very tough neighborhood where the bangers do shoot at cops, but ten SWAT teams? I think these events are planned around the money angle. Most of the personnel are getting overtime and really rolling up big bucks. They’ll go home and buy a bigger boat. The city of Vallejo just declared bankruptcy and the main reason other than tax problems due to the fall in the real estate market is the huge expense of public services where incomes of well over $100,000 a year are common. These administrators must be trolling for money constantly and our huge raid may be an example of their solution. Us poor country folks just don’t see the big picture. Maybe e should all write to the General Services Administration and ask for an audit.
Anonymous Says:
Jun. 27, 2008 at 7:48 am — has it right.
supposedly.. and I say this based on *rumor* is that this is a 3 year funded operation. This is the first circle to go down, they will role on others, in the area with smaller ops or similar, and that cycle will repeat and more raids will result. NO ONE wants fed time, and thats the real deal here and why people turn on others, this aint county time were talking.
jones,
who in the circle went down? no arrests were made.
they didnt even find any processed pot, and they have lied about the number of plants. face it, the raids were a total failure.
Theo, You re very, very wrong. You need to talk to an attorney to get the scoop on what they are doing. Ask about RICO.
did an attorney see the plants get hauled out? the feds made NO dent in the pot supply, face it. they can dream all day, but it doesnt change the fact that NO arrests were made. busting a few small 215 growers may get a prosecution, but nothing else changes…
theo, you do not apparently understand the difference between an arrest warrant and a search warrant.
this ain’t about medical pot. It’s about Villica LLC and Schectmean and his buddies buying land across the emerald triangle and illegally developing buildings to grow pot. Conspiracy to distribute. Tha’s why IRS is involved. Millions of dollars of land purchases using laundered money from illegal drug sales. As much as it should be legal, law is law.
Brilliant!