Gunmen Shoot Up Copter Used in Marijuana Raids

Unidentified gunmen early Wednesday blasted dozens of holes in a marijuana-raiding helicopter parked near houses occupied by the families of three sheriff’s deputies in Humboldt County.

There were no reports of injuries and no arrests.

Authorities said the attackers hurled a firebomb at the rear of the five-passenger helicopter in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the leased aircraft but still were able to fire enough high-powered rifle shots into it to knock it out of commission and inflict $60,000 damage.

The helicopter was used Monday and Tuesday in California’s stepped-up raids on marijuana growers, which have netted more than $6 million in plants, six arrests and an arms cache, officials said.

Drive to Continue

“The helicopter has been replaced by another helicopter, and CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) operations are continuing as normal,” CAMP spokeswoman LaVon Perez said.

The attack occurred about 3:30 a.m. at a sheriff’s substation in the Hoopa Valley near the Hoopa Indian Reservation, about 70 miles northeast of Eureka. Three sheriff’s deputies live in the area, with the nearest house about 50 yards from where the attackers struck. The three deputies were away but their wives and children were at home, Perez said.

State, local and federal officers plan to continue the stepped-up raids for several days using up to seven teams of a dozen officers each in helicopters and four-wheel-drive vehicles.