$9 Million Worth Of Marijuana Confiscated In West Marin Raid
MARSHALL (CBS SF) - Marin County sheriff's deputies eradicated more than 7,000 marijuana plants on private property near Marshall on Tuesday.
The value of the marijuana when processed is estimated at $9 million, the sheriff's office said.
Narcotics deputies received a tip about the grow from deer hunters a few days ago, sheriff's Lt. Barry Heying said.
They found the plants, many four or five feet tall, off Point Reyes-Petaluma Road in the Hicks Mountain area, Heying said.
The plants were removed from the site by a California Highway Patrol helicopter during the daylong operation, Heying said.
The campsite at the grow indicates three people were tending the growing plants, Heying said. The growers escaped when they heard narcotics agents arriving, he said.
Marijuana from California is selling between $3,000 and $4,000 a pound in the East, particularly in the New York area, Heying said.
Several shipments of marijuana from Marin County to the East Coast have been intercepted this year, Heying said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration also participated in the eradication operation, Heying said.
Narcotics deputies eradicated nearly 13,000 marijuana plants near Kent Lake in June and 7,000 in the same area in August 2010.
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