With the aid of a helicopter and an unknown number of teams of deputies on the ground, Ventura County Sheriff’s narcotics investigators Wednesday raided at least five marijuana growing areas in the Los Padres National Forest somewhere near the end of Matilija Canton Road. Although there was no information provided as of press time addressing the number of plants or their street value, it is believed to be one of the larger finds in recent history, based on the number of helicopter drops made at an improvised landing zone off Rice Road near the fish ladder on Wednesday and Thursday. The marijuana was loaded onto trucks destined for the Camarillo Airport where it is to be burned. Unofficial estimates placed the height of the taller plants at 7 feet.SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE
ISSUED FRIDAY, AUGUST 22:
Nature of Incident: Marijuana Cultivation
Location: Matilija Canyon
Date & Time: August 20, 2008
Unit Responsible: Sheriff’s Narcotics / Air Unit / U.S. Forest Service/D.E.A.
Officer Preparing Release: Sergeant M. Horne
Narrative:
On Wednesday, August 20, 2008, Sheriff’s Narcotics Investigators, in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Air Unit and the United States Forest Service, eradicated 5 large-scale marijuana cultivations in the Los Padres National Forest in Matilija Canyon, north of the city of Ojai. Approximately 11,000 marijuana plants were eradicated with a potential street value of over 22 million dollars. The plants from this grow were later destroyed.
The multiple gardens were discovered earlier this month during aerial reconnaissance and were located in multiple drainages and canyons along Matilija Canyon Road, from Highway 33 to the locked gate at the end of the road. Makeshift campsites used by the growers were found in each of the grow sites. Each campsite was littered with trash and debris, irrigation pipe, camping equipment, and chemicals used in fertilizing the plants. This type of activity found at these grow sites is known to cause significant damage to the environment, e.g., stream deviation, tree and brush cutting and removal, landscape terracing, etc.
It is believed those responsible for this grow are tied to a drug trafficking organization; however, no arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing.
The Sheriff’s Department would also like to remind the public of the potential danger to anyone who might accidentally come across one of these illegal marijuana grow sites. If anyone has information concerning a marijuana grow, please contact your local law enforcement agency or WE-TIP if you would like to remain anonymous.
67 comments:
What a waste of law enforcement resources.
THAT is an ignorant statement. Most likely grown by the cartels to use the funds for all sorts of bad things. Get your head outta your rear. If you want some pot, get a medical marijuana license like all of your friends and grow a little to keep yourself happy.
well if law enforcement was at the border like they should be the cartells could not opparate here
i would have to agree with that.
The copter has been flying past my house all day. Something leads me to believe more than 10 loads were recovered. More like 20-30. But yes a total waste of my tax dollars and no I'm not a pot head.
good fear tactics aug 20 5:40pm hey perhaps it was terrorists just a question how much fuel does that chopper burn an hour and all the car,trucks,personnel you must be offering to flip the bill aren't you!sounds like the police are taking a day off in the hills no criminals to arrest playing with there toys that we pay for suppose these same guys that got away dog gone it decide robing houses = more $$$$ and less risk because all the cops are busy on plant removal
they seem to be looking for public attention and approval but at 8:30 am if they would patrol el roblar and lomita and arrest just the ones that have the not so famous non extraditable warrants they would have my attention but plants from criminals who are most likely to be tipped off by cops who are not suppose to be here in the first place but always seem to get away bull sh#@
we could all get chipped so aug20 5:40pm can feel happy once in his or her pathetic life. if it was legal the cartels would be out of business
The run-on sentence pro must be out of his padded cell.
Freakin' copters made everybody paranoid today, obviously!
Beware hikers, Cops helicopters ,have chased the rattlesnakes into the lower lands. I saw one today where I have never seen one before.
Hmmm 6:21 pm reminds me of the way my friend sounds when his cigar box gets down to mere stems and seeds. Need to score? Trust me, kick your habit and YOU will be happier!
borrrrring
Legalize it the way they did in Alaska: you can grow 4 plants for your own use. If you sell anything you grow, it's a felony. You can have it, but you can't make money off of it. If all you want to do is catch a buzz or use it for medical reasons, you shouldn't have any problems with those rules.
Get the cartels out of our National Forests. I want to be able to hike without having to worry about getting my head blown off.
(I don't smoke pot, BTW.)
i am at this very moment packing my bags, moving to alaska.
ssdd
7:33pm what are you a pro at? do you do anything other than judge? you are saying keep wasting tax dollars on plant eradication evil pot plants and i need the padded room? did you get jumped by some pot plants? garden enforcement is very important to you but not me the cops should fight crime not vegetation if that makes me a bad guy so be it.cant run a red light without getting a picture taken but you can maintain a small forest and the cops only know what kind of chips the tender ate
who said paranoid? 5 to 10 crews+ transport just that is big bucks lots of overtime they could not get it all today more overtime tomorrow and no clues arrests one could say the war on drugs is very profitable to police very costly to us
infowars.com/prisonplanet.com concentration camps coffins body bags if you ask femma they say it is in case of a large national disaster maybe they know what is coming. look it up for your self
WHAT THE HECK does FEMA and body bags have to do with pots plants in the Los Padres?
I live in Matilija, and saw the helicopters passing all day. Also a squadron of Sheriff Dept. guys had to bushwack into the sites, which is a hard go in these hills. I believe most cannabis laws are ridiculous, however, this is no small potatoes deal. There were loads and loads of plants coming out. I reckon a thousand or more (just a guess).
Most of us in here don't like to be buzzed by helicopters flying low overhead nor the presence of a horde of police, as we live here for the peace and privacy. That being said, this is no small time deal. It's a tens and tens of millions of dollars worth of plants here, especially combined with the 8000 or so found earlier. This is certainly highly organized, and the harvest may very well have been planned to be taken out by helicopter, as it would be very hard to haul it out overland.
Perhaps it's organized crime from south of the border, or maybe it's from L.A., or wherever. In any case I don't like armed growers destroying the forest, bringing in chemicals and gear, then leaving a mess in their wake, just to make a killing.
It just continues to give cannabis, a terrifically useful plant, a poor image.
Bothering folks growing a patch in their yard or closet? Absolutely no, but massively big business in the forest? I hope they seize enough to discourage the growing parties from returning here again.
Fema and body bags. what does it have to do with pot? well if it is somewhat true people will need some pot to smoke just to calm them down. If you are just getting your new on tv and main stream media. You are missing alot.
The star free press just reported that home sales are up. What do you think? Read this
http://seekingalpha.com/article/90892-the-great-consumer-crash-of-2009
I am totally for being able to grow enough for personal use. I am NOT for these thugs coming into our Los Padres to plant their thousands of plants. Most reports indicate that these guys are highly armed. These people think our local back country is out in the middle of nowhere. Must seem like it, compared to LA. They have no idea how heavily used our Los Padres is. What would happen if some granola kids or Boy Scouts out hiking stumbled across the patch while the caretakers were there? It has happened. There is a good chance we'd never find the remains. Sure, it costs a lot to eradicate these grows, but if it saves one innocent life, it is money well spent. With the number of grows that have been found in the past few weeks, maybe the bad guys will figure out it is a waste of time.
well today plants tomorrow body's 2/3 of world pop will be killed off google it depopulation or unification,militarypolice. I say it again if the police stopped them at the border they could not do this here.screw the plants its the fact of ridiculous laws hopeless drug and war policy's like swatting at a fly with a hammer and using the fly swatter to hit nails.all i am saying is if tax money was spent correctly we would not have to spend all of it on plants eradication
Mr. Bodybags:
Perhaps when the pandemic hits or the global massacres take place or aliens come here and kill us all you will finally be at peace. As you breathe your last breath, you can smile weakly and gasp, "See! I told you so!"
If these things are really in our future, you must know that there's really nothing you can do about it, especially if your BIG PLAN involves commenting off-topic at the OVN blog. Maybe you need to smoke a little bud and chill. Or, if the bud is what's making you so paranoid, maybe you need to stop. Whatever it is you need to do, I hope you find some peace before you die.
why are you attacking the bodybag person. If you were more informed you would not be mocking him or her. And just to let you know there are no aliens. That is something the government came up with to be able to develop and test military aircraft. Again unless you turn off your tv and read books and seek out things you will continue to be a sheep. Do you realise that while the government says it has a war on drugs it actually is allowing it as the money it supplies the government with helps to keep the fed reserve going. read up get informed .
One mo' time....WHAT do these rants above have to do with pot plants in the forest? We think the O V News should have a separate blog spot for rambling rants that have nothing to do with the article.
Good job law enforcement - we don't need this on our streets or in our forests.
Thanks
i was there wed and thurs when the heli was buzzing the trees in the canyon we saw alot of air time devoted to taking 7 or more loads of pot out to the check dam. the neat thing is this:medical card holders who grow pot in the cyn of were left alone while the mexican mafia stations growing up there were busted up
these comments off topic are to irritate you. lol really they are to reach those of you who are sleeping. Back to the pot plants. I would think that drug testing of all involved in this raid in the future would be advised. While there are good police there are also those who think they themselves are above the law
aug 22 5:50am i am sorry your brain rejects reality it could be your water has fluoride in it.I am not telling you what to do so why are you telling me what to do?not enough control in your own life maybe? i use any output i can to get any one to listen is that wrong?when the dollar collapses i hope 2 or 3 of you will be open to trade and barter. the queen of England runs this country always has it is all an illusion wake up look up the real history of the world prove me wrong please i wish i was crazy things would make sense the powers that be want you looking over there while they do what they do best commit unbelievable repulsive crimes of all kinds
false flag gimmick war on terror war on drugs war on illiteracy out of these wars have you seen the enemy yet?but we have all seen the casualties families destroyed beyond repair we are all one when we let them divide us and conquer us. any one who says i am a better person because of the war on drugs is in on it or is full of it they have not stopped any attacks on us they just have not gone to phase two yet!! look on that money you hold so dear why it there a pyramid on U.S. money "annuit coeptis" and "novus ordo seclorum" its not just the free masons its bigger and just for the record i could and would not smile and say i told you so because my kids will be smack dab in the middle of it. it is not about me not about you its about us all of us stop paying taxes you are funding terrorists you cant make this sh#@ up
To Anonymous 8:04
We have taken your suggestion and created a Rambling Rants blog at http://ojairamblingrants.blogspot.com/2008/08/rambling-rants.html
Thanks.
did you know the Gov puts aluminum strips tho make us sterile. or is it fertile???
Thank you Lenny. Too bad 1:10 pm has not found it!
1:45 PM you have not found it either as you are rambling on about being annoyed about being off topic. Back on topic there is a lot more growing in the back country. You really need to be careful if you are hiking not to stumble upon these plantations. The people who run these will kill you to shut you up.
911 was an inside job. read the book 9/11 contradictions an open letter to congress and the press by David Ray Griffin sorry to post here but I am unable to post on the other link.
http://www.infowars.com/?p=4114
I think the link Lenny mentioned was a joke!!! Did you not notice that the link itself was rambling?
problem with the link he posted it does not allow you to just post anonymous what fun is that?
Its all on topic all of the above comments are Its just not what they what you talking about. I will post info anywhere I can.If you don't wish to read it then don't read it but to tell me to post my opinion some where no one will go and read it.strange the new blog has no anonymous button because everyone has used the anonymous button here???? wtf
My mistake. The anonymous feature has been restored. It's still better to let people know who you are.
To the Valley Watcher, 8/22, 9:45 pm: I do not see two short sentences as "rambling on!"
BTW, what you had to say has already been said. Come up with an new, original and unique thought!
look up Alex Jones he covers 911,fluoride,concentration camps,military police,Marshall law domestic spying and Internet censorship.
I am surprised that none of the canyon residents noticed the growers. Seems like someone would have seen them hauling in and off-loading all of the equipment and supplies.
Hello? Why do you think most of those people live in Matilija Canyon to begin with? They're all a bunch of pot-heads up there. The growers probably drop off baggies in their mailboxes as 'hush' money. Get over it. The Ojai Valley is full of tokers, even church-going, stand-up citizens light up after they have their little prayer groups. It's just a way of life for people.
There is nothing for me to get over. Besides the people who live up there that you seem to know so well their habits, there is a ton of traffic on that road not related to the pot growers and the people who live there. There is also a ton of cop traffic going up there to investigate the continual car break-in reports which we all assume are connected to the people who live up there. I still think it odd no one noticed any pot growing equipment. And, my dear, being a child of the 60-70's, I am no prude when it comes to smoking a relaxing bowl and growing a plant or two for a PS, but I am bothered by the freakin' Mexican mafia or whoever these ganstas are raping our back country and making it an unsafe place to be. Now YOU get over it!
That is the whole point plants are harmless in the wild but the cartels can be eradicated by putting them out of business regulation just like alcohol and tobacco they may even lower the drinking age to 18 a lot of 21yr olds cant handle the booze now. move drinking age to 25 and pot to 21 cigs stay at 18
Booze is a bigger problem.
Back in the late 70's and 80's I used to Hike and camp all through Matilija canyon, cable cars, wheelers gorge, beaver creek all the way to the shady little bar between Bakersfield and Ojai (I have forgotten the name). I had friends that lived by the damn and we never saw any plants. I never go lucky enough to find any fields of wacky weed. I do know that that last few times I have gone up the mountain, I have seen a lot more illegal looking types. It doesn't take a detective to figure out who is planting these fields. A few hippies growing PS, great, some armed illegals growing and destroying the land and scaring locals, well that isn’t good.
You had friends that lived by the damn what? If you mean the big concrete thing that holds back the water, or mud, it is a dam.
To August 24, 2008 11:39 AM
Why try and say anything new?
You most likey would not understand it anyway as I am a rambler .
Wow the grammar police are out, what a stupid snide comment from an anonymous person, pretty bold. Content V context. Learned that in College, since you were able to elaborate on Damn v Dam you got the context. Are you trying to get a job @ the OVN? Seems like you have some extra time on your hands. Putting that Nordhoff education to good use I see. Now get a job/life. Damn U
U need to dam up your emotions.
well the feds are taking every thing Else over banks police schools maybe blogs, or maybe a separate blog for us stupid misspelling over thinking undereducated peons it could be that the truth is too scary to face without judging based on grammar and spelling i would rather be undereducated and aware than to be over educated and willfully ignorant
It is really a shame that Dr. Demento isn't on the radio late at night anymore.
"The attack of the killer tomatoes...."
Dr. D was the bomb! The good old days, sitting in the dark on Sunday night, smoking a fatty, listening to Dr. D.
If it was legal they wouldn't be growing it up there. To me the war on drugs is about as effective as prohibition. It only creates government jobs and problems.
I was a regular on the Dr. Demento show.
The war on terrorism is the same false flag where the enemy is faceless and less than human it is then OK if 50 or so civilians are killed if you kill 1 terrorist or you find 1 bomb and searched 100 innocent people to get it. Give up liberty for security you deserve nether!!! justifiable collateral damage is like the wmds bush and admin. lied to an obscene criminal level to pass the real agendas don't be blind research you choice carefully!!! write in RON PAUL for president!!!
James Hatch is full of crap.
James Hatch was the voice of the song where the guy with the gravely, old man voice goes, "Hey babe, ya wanna boogie? Boogie Wooogie woogie with me! We can boogie over here we can boogie over there,,,Hey babe ya wanna boogie? Boogie Woogie Woogie with me."
Since nobody knows who JH really is, how would you know that?
The Boogie Woogie song was by Harry "The Hipster" Gibson, circa 1944.
Well, there goes all that lovely LA tourism in Ojai. No doubt this will impact the downtown area and cause more shops to close. Then, there's all the nice people coming up from Oxnard, that won't have a reason to be here either.
Come to think of it...let's have another drug bust next week! I almost want to live here.
Funny that none of this stuff was found with all that spraying of Phalaris Grass in the canyon. Methinks the Army Corps of Engineers had a good time gardening in Ojai :)
Ok, so well then maybe James Hatch is Kinko the kid loving clown? If you play with Kinko he never wears a frown
Get your head outta your rear. If you want some pot, get a medical marijuana license like all of your friends and grow a little to keep yourself happy.
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http://www.marijuanaaddictiontreatment.com
phillipa
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