[AZ-Observing] Observing close to a pot farm?
- From: "Thom/TFW" <mthomj@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 21:32:36 -0700
Large pot farm in National Forest busted
PHOENIX (AP) -- Authorities have uncovered a vast marijuana farm in a remote
ravine north of Strawberry on the Coconino National Forest.
The mile-long field included "thousands and thousands and thousands" of plants,
though it was unclear exactly how many, said Sgt. Mike Johnson of the Gila
County Sheriff's Office.
A Department of Public Safety commander told the Arizona Daily Sun that it may
be one of the biggest busts on record.
Members of the Gila County Narcotics Enforcement Task Force had been
investigating and doing surveillance since July on the farm north of Strawberry
on the southernmost part of Coconino National Forest.
A man was seen tending the plants and camping in the garden in July and August,
according to court paperwork released Tuesday.
Last week, another man was spotted in the garden, and on Monday, two others
were seen there. The men, who were heavily armed, were confronted by law
enforcement and arrested.
Three of them admitted they had been paid to tend the marijuana plants. All
were illegal immigrants, according to paperwork filed with U.S. District Court
in Flagstaff. The men were identified in federal court paperwork as Jesus
Castillo Malendrez, Gerardo Manzo Pulido, Oscar Nunez Medina and David Valencia
Gonzalez. Castillo, Manzo and Valencia are from Mexico.
The investigation involved numerous agencies, but most were referring calls to
the U.S. Attorney's Office, which refused to answer questions about the size
and scope of the farm until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.
Johnson said the farm near Strawberry was one of a number local authorities
have discovered on Forest Service land this year. Five others were found on the
nearby Tonto National Forest.
"We've had so many of them it seems like," he said.
Raquel Poturalski, a spokeswoman for the Coconino National Forest, said only a
few marijuana plants have been documented in that forest in the last few years,
but cases are not unheard of.
The portion of the forest where the farm was discovered was in the Fossil
Springs Wilderness Area, just north of Strawberry. It is heavily forested with
steep canyons, difficult to access by road.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
"Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best ends by the best means" Francis
Hutchenson a Scot philosopher
Thom
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