Officers find 4,700 marijuana plants

ALBANY, Ore. — Police and drug-enforcement officials have removed 4,700 marijuana plants from a forested area south of Lyons, Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller said.

He estimated the value of the crop, if harvested and sold, at more than $9 million.

Detectives spotted the field from a helicopter Aug. 7 but delayed removing the plants, hoping to catch the growers, he said. No arrests have been made.

The plants were on three acres owned by Weyerhaeuser Co. in the McCully Mountain area.

The site was on a hillside and irrigated by tubing that brought water from a creek. Some of the dirt had been tilled and some of the plants had been staked.

Detective Capt. Paul Timm said a typical outdoor marijuana grow in Linn County consists of six to 100 plants. About 1,000 plants in this grow were at least 6 feet tall.

This week, the sheriff's deputies noticed that some of the marijuana had been harvested. Two deputies spent the night at the site to keep watch.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Sheriff's Office kept some plants for evidence. The rest went by secured convoy to an incinerator in Eugene, Ore.

The Sheriff's Office was assisted by the Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home police departments, the DEA and the National Guard.