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$10K worth of marijuana plants seized
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Posted on Jun 04 2004
The Department of Public Safety seized last Wednesday several fully-grown marijuana plants with a total estimated street value between $8,000 to $10,000.
According to Crime Stoppers coordinator and DPS public information officer Sgt. Thomas A. Blas Jr., a total of 93 plants ranging in height from six to 12 feet were uprooted from a location in Capitol Hill.
Most of the plants reportedly had stems of about three inches in diameter.
Blas said information about the location and the plants came courtesy of a tip received through the Crime Stoppers hotline earlier in the day.
He said the tip was immediately forwarded to the local drug task force Special Investigation Section.
“SIS team members, along with members of the TASC team, conducted a joint reconnaissance and independent investigation of the location given in the tip, and discovered the marijuana plantation before nightfall [Wednesday],” he said.
Blas said all the plants were confiscated as part of evidence, and were being processed yesterday.
No arrests have been made yet as the case is still under investigation.
The NMI Crime Stoppers, which was established in 1989, has been helping the police department solve cases through unique information-gathering techniques that reward tipsters. The past year has been a banner year for the NMI Crime Stoppers.
The Crime Stoppers received calls in its 234-7272 hotline, which led to arrests for crimes ranging from burglary to robbery, and murder.
The program also received numerous calls about the cultivation and distribution of marijuana and ice. Aside from Wednesday’s raid, tips received through the hotline have led to the removal of well over $20,000 worth of illegal substances from the streets of the CNMI.
