68,000 pot plants seized in forest

In two operations in the Los Padres National Forest this week, officials seized and destroyed 68,000 marijuana plants, the U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday.

Equipped with extensive irrigation systems, the plots were “organized-crime gardens” typical of hundreds run by networks based in Mexico, said Ron Pugh, special agent in charge of the Forest Service’s Southwest region.

“It’s not your hippies-in-Volkswagens deal anymore,” Pugh said.

The discoveries were made in the Gold Hill area of Ventura County and along Santiago Creek in Kern County. Two arrests were made on the Ventura County plot.

Last year, more than 1.7 million plants were seized in national forests in California. Finds have been more frequent this year, Pugh said, perhaps reflecting a doubling of Forest Service staff devoted to the raids.

-- Steve Chawkins