HELICOPTERS LEAD MARIJUANA SEARCH-AND-DESTROY MISSION IN LEE COUNTY

JONESVILLE - Another helicopter search Wednesday for illegal marijuana
crops in Lee County led to four more operations being put out of
business, Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons said.

Parsons said the four plots - with a total of 68 plants - were seized
in the eradication effort conducted jointly with the U.S. Forest
Service and other agencies.

Parsons said the Forest Service was planning to fly the Jefferson
National Forest in search of marijuana and offered to fly other areas
of the county in which local officials believed it may be growing.
Ground crews of officers from the Lee County Sheriff's Department,
Forest Service and the Virginia State Police were put together to
destroy what the choppers located.

Working in the Keokee area with two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters
and two five-man ground crews, the searchers located two plots with 15
plants each, one with 14, and a fourth with 24 plants. The plants,
which would have been worth approximately $1,000 each at maturity,
ranged in size from 8 feet to 14 feet tall, said Maj. Jimmy Woodard,
who served on the ground crews.

Parsons said initial plans called for the choppers to fly two days in
Lee County, but those fell through. He stressed, however, that the
annual effort to eliminate marijuana patches is an ongoing job, and
his officers will continue to investigate tips and destroy any
marijuana found.

The annual searches are conducted at this point in the growing season
so plants can be destroyed before they "bud." Buds provide the most
desirable part of the material used for smoking.

Parsons said he hopes to obtain a VSP helicopter again before the
growing season ends, but he encouraged anyone with information
concerning illegal drug activity to contact his office at
(276)346-7777 or to call the TIPS hot line at (276)346-7706, option
No. 1. Information will be kept confidential, and all leads will be
investigated.

Wednesday's take brought the total of plants eradicated in Lee County
this year to more than 1,700.