[Sativa]

It's been a record year for pot plant busts in Tulare County, reports Capt. Dahl Cleek of the Sheriff's Department.

So far, 267,000 plants have been confiscated from more than 40 gardens.

The illegal crop is being grown not only in the rugged mountains. There's action on the Valley floor, too.

Deputies this week confiscated 1,300 plants in a cornfield near Orosi.

And last week, a gravel mine near Woodlake was the scene of a pot-growing caper.

It seems that several old gravel pits at Kaweah River Rock Co. are now thick in trees and weeds. The mine leases that part of its property to a local cattleman to graze cows.

Well, a cow went missing, so the rancher walked down into one of the overgrown pits to search, soon stumbling across a hidden pot grove.

The cattleman stopped worrying about the cow and started worrying about his own safety. He drove to the mine office and informed general manager Dave Harrald, who called the Sheriff's Department.

By dark, deputies removed 1,023 plants. Estimated street value at maturity: $4.23 million.

Two men spied in the area got away.

No word on the cow.



News Hawk- User http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: The Fresno Bee
Author: Lewis Griswold
Contact: lgriswold@fresnobee.com
Copyright: 2007 The Fresno Bee
Website: FresnoBee.com: Lew Griswold: Missing cow leads to marijuana farm bust