potandchopper

INET agents said that a CHP helicopter assisted the eradication team with extraction of marijuana plants and garbage.

The second marijuana eradication operation this summer unfolded on Inyo National Forest lands outside of Lone Pine on Tuesday.  The Inyo Narcotics Enforcement Team reported that agents eradicated about 4,000 marijuana plants with a potential street value of $10 million dollars.  It was the end of August when Mono narcotics agents reported the eradication of around 30,000 marijuana plants at an undisclosed location on the Inyo National Forest.

INET agents said that the site this week appeared to have been abandoned by the cultivators in days prior to the law enforcement operation.  INET said that they had help from the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Agents said they removed large loads of garbage and rubber hose left behind by the cultivators.
A CHP helicopter also assisted the eradication team with extraction of marijuana plants and garbage.   Officers and agents warned the public that if you become aware that you have entered a cultivation site, leave to avoid possible threat.  The INET press release says,  “Walk, crawl or run out the way you came in and make as little noise as possible.  The growers,” said agents, “may not know that you found their operation, or they might not be present.”  Agents advise that you contact law enforcement as soon as possible.

Clues for those hiking the backcountry who may find a cultivation site include the smell of marijuana similar to skunk; hoses or drip lines; a well-used trail where there shouldn’t be one; voices in unusual places; people standing along roads without vehicles; campsites in unusual places; small propane bottles; fertilizer; weapons; garbage and individuals armed with rifles out of hunting season.

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