COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In just the first six weeks of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation’s Outdoor Marijuana Eradication program more than 50,000 marijuana plants have been seized.
That’s more than was recovered in Ohio in all of the 2009 season.
In just the last two weeks of August, the BCI’s eradication program seized more than 30,000 plants.
In 2009, the BCI seized 48,051 marijuana plants total. A total, which has been increasing each year. In 2008, 40,158 plants were seized and 37,835 in 2007.
These totals show the effort of the BCI program is needed, according to Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. "One of the grows busted in these last two weeks involved 22,000 plants found in Pike County – another one of the increasing number of Ohio grows likely to have Mexican drug cartels at their source. These carry danger not only for those who would use the drug, but for any Ohioan who might stumble upon these illicit camps. We will continue to be aggressive in seeking them out and tearing them down."
Other seizures in the last two weeks of August include 500 plants in Hocking County, 500 plants in Washington County, 374 plants in Lorain County and 238 plants in Knox County.
The BCI’s outdoor program is led during the summer months and relies heavily on the use of helicopters, all-terrain vehicles and partnerships with local county sheriff’s offices and other law enforcement agencies around the state.
For more information on the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, please visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/BCI.
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