Friday, Oct. 03, 2008

STAR team finds 240 pounds of pot

By DANIELLE GAINES
Dgaines@mercedsun-star.com

In the early morning hours Thursday, the Merced County Sheriff's STAR Team hacked through thick weeds and berry bramble to uncover yet another marijuana grow near Merced.

The grow, which was spotted on the 1200 block of Yale Avenue by the Merced sheriff's helicopter last week, consisted of about 600 mature plants, Sgt. Steve Sziraki said.

Approximately 7,500 mature plants have been uncovered by the team over the past couple weeks.

"They grow in such remote places and the criminals are getting more and more clever," said Deputy Tom MacKenzie of the recent spurt.

He said the department is uncovering grows so quickly because of increased training for spotting them from the helicopter.

Sgt. Sziraki said detectives found fresh food and ammunition at the camp, but no gun. He believed a worker fled the area after hearing the officers in the brush.

They cordoned off the area and searched for an unknown suspect, but didn't locate anyone.

The 240 pounds of marijuana removed has a street value of approximately $500,000.

The owners of the property told Sgt. Sziraki they had no idea there was a grow on their land and that they took regular walks in the area.

The close proximity to civilians makes a dangerous, accidental confrontation much more likely, Sziraki said.

MacKenzie said the team was preparing to eradicate another grow this morning.

Reporter Danielle Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.