The only way to decrease the incidence of these gardens being planted on public land is to keep the resources law enforcement needs to spot and destroy these gardens at the appropriate level.
An excerpt.
Pot raid near Folsom Lake
Hillside growers tied to gang
By David Richie -- Bee Staff Writer Published 12:01 am PDT Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The statewide war against marijuana moved ahead with a rush Monday as authorities seized nearly 2,000 plants -- many more than 6 feet tall -- in two gardens within a few miles of some of El Dorado County's most expensive homes.
Law enforcement investigators believe that just as many plants had already been harvested. The street value of the gardens raided Monday was probably in the $5 million to $8 million range considering what was confiscated and what had been harvested.
The camouflaged gardens on public lands were spread across steep, brush-covered hillsides off Salmon Falls Road, within sight of $1 million homes and Folsom Lake, about three miles from El Dorado Hills.
"We don't usually find many grows this close to civilization," said Gordon Taylor, assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Eastern Division of California.
Investigators linked the marijuana patches to one of Southern California's toughest criminal gangs.
Markings carved into a tree and evidence found on the hillside indicate that the marijuana growing operation was orchestrated by the Sureños, a Southern California-based gang that is in turn linked to the Mexican Mafia, Taylor said.
"This is organized crime and that is what we are finding with a lot of these operations that use Mexican nationals," Taylor said. "This is big business."
Even though California voters legalized marijuana use for medical purposes, law enforcement officials still view the weed as a damaging and pervasive problem.
Special Weapons and Tactics teams from three counties spearheaded the early morning sweep near Salmon Falls Road. They were accompanied by California National Guard soldiers, DEA agents and other personnel associated with the state Department of Justice Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.
