Police in California seize $1.7 billion worth of marijuana

by Joseph Ernest July 29, 2010

Newscast Media -- Gil Kerlikowske, the White House drug czar, said police stumbled across industrial-sized plantations of marijuana in the foothills of Sierra Nevada, in California. Over the past three weeks, 97 people have been arrested, most of them Mexican nationals believed to have ties with Mexican drug cartels.

Margaret Mims, Fresno County Sherrif said, "They (the crime gangs) continue their criminal conduct during their off-season with other illegal drug and violent activities in our local communities." Story continues below...

About 450 agents have destroyed more than 432,000 marijuana plants during the three-week sweep, which ends Friday, Kerlikowske said. Still, according to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration statistics, that accounts for a small percentage of the crop typically seized in California each year.