Thursday, August 27th, 2015
Drug task force collects 75 pot plants in Auglaize County
By Jared Mauch
WAPAKONETA - The Grand Lake Task Force collected 75 marijuana plants in Auglaize County on Tuesday during drug eradication operations.
The plants in Auglaize County were valued at about $75,000. The plants, ranging in size up to 3 feet high, were located from a helicopter borrowed from the Butler County Sheriff's office and through tips from farmers.
Plants were located in cornfields and a home's garden. The plants were pulled, counted and placed into evidence. They will be destroyed at a later date.
The sheriff's office is considering charges for the growers.
"Marijuana is illegal to possess, sell or grow in the state of Ohio," sheriff Allen Solomon said. "Even though the issue will be on the November ballot, it is still illegal to possess, sell or grow and we will continue to investigate, search for and convict those possessing or growing it or selling it."
The task force, assisted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, collected 125 plants valued at $240,000, along with almost $20,000 and four guns, in Mercer County on Monday.
Combined, the efforts on Monday and Tuesday seized about $315,000 worth of marijuana.
