$35 Million Worth Of Pot Uprooted At Angeles National Forest

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Los Angeles sheriff's Capt. Ralph Ornelas told the newspaper that the pot was being grown in remote areas of the forest by traffickers. Though there were no arrests, about 950 pounds of growing supplies including fertilizers, pesticides, propane tanks, food and ammunition were found along with the cannabis plants.

"The team eradicated a total of 17,493 illicit marijuana plants from public lands," Ornelas said. "The sites included extensive irrigation systems and campsites."

The perpetrators had artificially dammed three steams, creating extensive irrigation systems that were depriving water from native plants and animals in order to supply the marijuana plants, he said.

Ornelas told the public to be wary about marijuana growth on government-owned lands.

"Suspects often use firearms and even booby traps to guard their plants from law enforcement and competing criminal elements," he said.