Friday, October 08, 2010
School's Greenhouse Raided; Tomato Plants Taken for Pot
By Jessica Dyer
Journal Staff Writer
Authorities came closer to making a salad than a drug bust last month at an Española-area school.
Through helicopter surveillance intended to locate marijuana operations, members of the Region III Narcotics Task Force zeroed in on the Camino de Paz Montessori School and Farm on Sept. 21. But when the ground team reported to the campus about 25 miles north of Santa Fe and received permission to search the school's greenhouse, they realized the plants were tomatoes.
State Police Maj. Robert Shilling said the task force is in the midst of "eradication operation flights." Trained spotters search for marijuana plants while flying over the region aboard National Guard helicopters. Shilling said the school's greenhouse had "tall bushy plants in it," prompting spotters to call for further investigation.
In this case, he added, no one on the team realized the site was a school until ground personnel arrived on the campus and spoke to a school employee. A school employee "agreed to show them the greenhouse," Shilling said. "Once the agents realized it was tomatoes, we left."
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Read more: ABQJOURNAL NEWS/METRO: School's Greenhouse Raided; Tomato Plants Taken for Pot
http://www.abqjournal.com/paperboy/text/news/metro/082334516084newsmetro10-08-10.htm#ixzz11mVhi3vl
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