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ST. THOMAS - The low-flying helicopter sweeping across the island of St. Thomas for three days this week was - as many residents suspected - looking for marijuana plants.
"It went pretty well, we got 1,500 plants," Acting HIDTA supervisor Andrew Niermeier said Friday.
This week's operation netted a little less than the last operation.
In September 2014, the sweep brought in 4,003 marijuana plants, and in August 2013, the operation found about 6,500 plants.
The operation was from Tuesday to Thursday, Niermeier said.
No arrests were made as part of the operation, but that is normal for this type of mission, he said.
If there are people in the area, they have usually fled by the time agents arrive on the scene.
"The helicopter will find it in the air, they will radio to it down to us on the ground and we will hike into the bush and go in and find it," Niermeier said.
"A lot of these are remote sites," he said. "A lot of time we know who it is and whose grow it is, but linking them to it is a little difficult."
HIDTA is a multi-agency taskforce focused on drug trafficking in the territory. The federal and local agencies involved in this week's surveillance mission includes: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the V.I. Police Department, Homeland Security, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Internal Revenue Service, Customs and Boarder Patrol, the V.I. National Guard and the U.S. Marshals.
"It's a team effort. You see a lot of people showing up," Niermeier said.
The task force tries to do these surveillance operations in the territory about twice a year; however, the time of year shifts so that it is not something that can be anticipated by marijuana growers.
"And the Virgin Islands doesn't have its own helicopter, so we have to get those," he said.
- Contact Aldeth Lewin at 714-9111 or email [email protected].
We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:
"It went pretty well, we got 1,500 plants," Acting HIDTA supervisor Andrew Niermeier said Friday.
This week's operation netted a little less than the last operation.
In September 2014, the sweep brought in 4,003 marijuana plants, and in August 2013, the operation found about 6,500 plants.
The operation was from Tuesday to Thursday, Niermeier said.
No arrests were made as part of the operation, but that is normal for this type of mission, he said.
If there are people in the area, they have usually fled by the time agents arrive on the scene.
"The helicopter will find it in the air, they will radio to it down to us on the ground and we will hike into the bush and go in and find it," Niermeier said.
"A lot of these are remote sites," he said. "A lot of time we know who it is and whose grow it is, but linking them to it is a little difficult."
HIDTA is a multi-agency taskforce focused on drug trafficking in the territory. The federal and local agencies involved in this week's surveillance mission includes: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the V.I. Police Department, Homeland Security, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Internal Revenue Service, Customs and Boarder Patrol, the V.I. National Guard and the U.S. Marshals.
"It's a team effort. You see a lot of people showing up," Niermeier said.
The task force tries to do these surveillance operations in the territory about twice a year; however, the time of year shifts so that it is not something that can be anticipated by marijuana growers.
"And the Virgin Islands doesn't have its own helicopter, so we have to get those," he said.
- Contact Aldeth Lewin at 714-9111 or email [email protected].
We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:
