July 31, 2002

sfgate.com

News in brief from the San Joaquin Valley

OAKHURST, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities have seized seven marijuana gardens spread across 10 acres near here, the second bust in Madera County in a month.

A tipster led officials to the 4,194 budding pot plants about 13 miles northeast of Oakhurst. The gardens, with fertilizer and a drip irrigation system worth about $13 million, were destroyed Tuesday.

"It looked like these guys had been trained in the vineyards," sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said. "There was so much care and detail put into these groves."

No suspects were arrested, and the garden appeared to be abandoned, Stuart said. Litter was scattered throughout the area and authorities found four sleeping bags and beer cans with bullet holes. Food supplies appeared to be ripped open by bears.

On July 21, police busted a pot garden with more than 300 plants worth about $1.1 million in rural Ahwahnee. Remijio Delamora, 65, of Merced and Eliseo Olivera, 48, of Rosemead were arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana for sale.