Saturday, September 18, 2004
WORTHINGTON - A crop of 420 marijuana plants worth up to $840,000 was destroyed yesterday morning after being found Thursday in Jackson Marsh, between Ireland Street and Route 112.
Police here worked with the Army National Guard Thursday to locate the plants from a helicopter. The plants are worth $1,500 to $2,000 each, Police Chief Jeff C. Johnson said yesterday. They were found growing in the marsh inside 2½-gallon planting pots.
The police worked with the Worthington and Windsor fire departments and Huntington and Cummington police departments throughout the night Thursday to gather the plants out of the marsh. At times, officers were waist-high in the marsh.
Johnson said it's that time of year when marijuana is harvested and that is what prompted the air search. He said the plants were almost ready to be harvested.
The plants were destroyed by fire today behind the town garage. Johnson said the investigation into who was growing the plants will proceed. No arrests have been made.