Petaluma/NorCal alert - Illegal grow busted
Petaluma/NorCal alert - Illegal grow busted
A raid on an illegal grow operation in Petaluma yielded about 4,500 marijuana plants that were confiscated by authorities, the Marin County Sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
The quarter-mile large operation was discovered Monday when a warden with the state Department of Fish and Game ran into a man walking along the 1400 block of Marshall-Petaluma Road at about 11 a.m.
The man was wearing camouflage clothing and carrying pruning clippers, said Lt. Barry Heying of the sheriff’s office.
Investigators connected the man with the nearby grow operation, which sprawled over water district land, according to Heying. In a raid that continued well into Tuesday afternoon, they found thousands of the five-foot tall plants that were cared for with fertilizer and an elaborate irrigation system that fed from natural springs.
As with many illegal grow operations, there were also signs of pollution from pesticides and other chemicals, erosion damage and litter.
The man stopped by the warden was the only arrest made in the grow operation. Authorities did not release his identity, but said he was in the country illegally and is now in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Anyone with information on this grow operation should contact the sheriff’s office at (415) 473-7233, or the anonymous Bay Area Crime stoppers tip line at (800) 222-TIPS.
Petaluma/NorCal alert - Illegal grow busted
A raid on an illegal grow operation in Petaluma yielded about 4,500 marijuana plants that were confiscated by authorities, the Marin County Sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
The quarter-mile large operation was discovered Monday when a warden with the state Department of Fish and Game ran into a man walking along the 1400 block of Marshall-Petaluma Road at about 11 a.m.
The man was wearing camouflage clothing and carrying pruning clippers, said Lt. Barry Heying of the sheriff’s office.
Investigators connected the man with the nearby grow operation, which sprawled over water district land, according to Heying. In a raid that continued well into Tuesday afternoon, they found thousands of the five-foot tall plants that were cared for with fertilizer and an elaborate irrigation system that fed from natural springs.
As with many illegal grow operations, there were also signs of pollution from pesticides and other chemicals, erosion damage and litter.
The man stopped by the warden was the only arrest made in the grow operation. Authorities did not release his identity, but said he was in the country illegally and is now in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Anyone with information on this grow operation should contact the sheriff’s office at (415) 473-7233, or the anonymous Bay Area Crime stoppers tip line at (800) 222-TIPS.