MORGAN HILL
– More than 5,000 immature marijuana plants were pulled up by
three state park rangers Tuesday in a remote area of Henry W. Coe
State Park and turned over to narcotics enforcement officers.
MORGAN HILL – More than 5,000 immature marijuana plants were pulled up by three state park rangers Tuesday in a remote area of Henry W. Coe State Park and turned over to narcotics enforcement officers.
At maturity, the plants’ street value is estimated at between $300,000 and $500,000, according to Dave Schaechtele, public information officer for the Monterey District of California State Parks, which covers Big Sur to Henry W. Coe.
The one- to 12-inch-tall plants were discovered by a hiker who noticed a black irrigation pipe in a suspicious location and notified rangers, Schaechtele said.
Schaechtele asks anyone hiking in Henry Coe’s backcountry to keep an eye out for anything unusual but warns not to go near either suspicious plants or people who may be nearby. The area where the plants were found is accessible only by foot.
“Be aware, don’t approach or investigate,” Schaechtele said.
Contact any law enforcement officer – rangers, police, California Highway Patrol, county sheriff – he said, but do not call 9-1-1.
