Sheriff raids poppy field near Lebanon

Summary

Police raided a poppy field in a clearcut east of here and pulled over 8,000 plants Tuesday after surveillance failed to generate any leads in the case. The Linn County Sheriff's office watched the field for over a month after getting a tip from a citizen.

Story Published: Jul 1, 2009 at 4:01 PM PST

Sheriff raids poppy field near Lebanon

LEBANON, Ore. -- Police raided a poppy field in a clearcut east of here and pulled over 8,000 plants Tuesday after surveillance failed to generate any leads in the case.

The Linn County Sheriff's office watched the field for over a month after getting a tip from a citizen. On Tuesday, detectives raided the clearcut area near Berlin Road and McDowell Creek Road east of Lebanon and pulled all 8,075 plants.

This is the third poppy field the Sheriff's Office has investigated over the last three years. The plants could have been processed into $30,000 worth of opium, the sheriff estimated.

The case is still under investigation with the help of the Lebanon Police Department and DEA-Eugene. 

On a separate investigation, 41 marijuana plants were pulled the same day from near the intersection of Diamond Hill and I-5 east of Harrisburg, Ore.. The plants, approximately 3 feet tall, were discovered by deputies while flying with the Oregon Army National Guard as part of the annual marijuana eradication operation conducted by law enforcement agencies across Oregon.

The plants were found on Oregon Department of Transportation property in a brushy area near a small steam.

No suspects have been identified and the case remains under investigation.

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