Deputies Destroy Weed On PL Land

Sheriff blames "foreign drug trafficking orgs"

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/11/08
By Sentinel Staff

LARABEE VALLEY -- Yesterday Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies from the Drug Enforcement Unit destroyed 10,068 growing marijuana plants found on Pacific Lumber Company property.

Ranging from three to six inches in height, the plants were found east of Bridgeville in the Larabee Valley area, protected by an electric deer fence. The growers were not on the site, which had an automated watering system, but deputies found supplies left at a staging area.

“There are foreign drug trafficking organizations operating in and around Humboldt County,” said Sheriff Gary Philp, who noted the grow site was about a half-mile from where a man was killed after aiming a loaded shotgun at a deputy in October, 2007.

“These marijuana grows can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to those organizations and they can be motivated to protect their investment,” warned Philp, who advised people that find grow sites to leave the area immediately and tell deputies.