Agents Launch Marijuana Drive in N. California
Law enforcement agents fanned out across Northern California’s “Emerald Triangle” Monday in the kickoff of the fourth annual series of raids on marijuana farms.
Meanwhile, investigators continued to look into what caused a marijuana-hunting plane to crash six miles north of the Oregon-California border last week, killing three people on board.
“We’re not ruling out anything. . . . The cause could have been bad weather, mechanical failure, or that somebody shot at the aircraft. But the possibility of being shot at (by marijuana growers) looks remote at this time,” said Jim Barrera, a spokesman for the cooperative program, called the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.
Information from the flights is used to coordinate ground raids, which began with sweeps by two teams in Humboldt County, two in Mendocino County and a team in Butte County. Teams are made up of seven to 12 agents.
Raids are planned on marijuana farms in 37 counties, with particular emphasis on Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties, which compose the Emerald Triangle. A total of 2,000 law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies are expected to take part in the offensive.
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