45 Marijuana Plants Worth $100,000 Seized

Narcotics officers from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department seized 45 mature marijuana plants Saturday in the Williams Canyon area, north of Modjeska, after the plants were spotted from the air by the department’s helicopter.

Sheriff’s Lt. Larry Richey said that the officers recovered 160 pounds of marijuana, worth about $100,000, growing in a field at Santiago Canyon Road and Jackson Ranch Road.

The plants, which were six feet tall, were observed in a brushy area by the Sheriff’s Air Support Bureau during a routine patrol, Richey said.

Also recovered were “watering sources, fertilizer, pesticides and related equipment,” Richey said. No arrests were made and the case is under investigation.