Operation nets $1 billion in pot plants

FRESNO, Calif., July 23 (UPI) -- Fresno County, Calif., sheriff's deputies reported seizing $1 billion worth of marijuana plants in the first week of a marijuana plant eradication effort.

Eight-two people with ties to drug cartels also were arrested during Operation Save Our Sierra, which began July 13, CNN reported Thursday.

The initiative involves local, state and federal agencies working together to take out marijuana growing operations, investigate and arrest traffickers and remove drug operation infrastructure on public lands in Fresno County.

"This is a high-intensity drug trafficking area," U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske told CNN. "I think what should be highlighted here is the local authorities work to reclaim the land from the drug traffickers."

The terrain of eastern Fresno County, where the arrests and seizures were made, favors drug trafficking because it is mountainous and sparsely populated. Marijuana growers exploit the area's streams, rivers and lakes to set up drip lines for their plants.

A mature marijuana plant can be worth $4,000, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said.

"Fresno County is roughly the size of Connecticut, and the drug traffickers target these areas because they know there is not that significant of a law enforcement presence," Mims said.

The operation is the largest in Fresno County history and one of the largest in California, she said.

"What makes this operation unique is the approach: prevention enforcement, eradication and reclamation," she said.