South Carolina authorities bust fourth pot-growing operation
York County, South Carolina drug task force pushes year's total value of busts to $12.7M YORK, South Carolina -- The York County, South Carolina drug task force made its fourth multimillion dollar marijuana plant seizure this summer after an anonymous tipster reported three fields of plants northeast of York.

Agents from the York County, South Carolina Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit found 704 plants Friday worth $1.76 million about 50 yards east of Wood Road, said South Carolina Lt. Kelly Lovelace of the South Carolina drug task force.

The drug eradication brought the county's total value of marijuana plants seized to $12.7 million -- a yearly record for York County, South Carolina that is leading South Carolina thus far.

"We're just flabbergasted by it, really," Lovelace said of the South Carolina task force's record-setting year.

The largest seizure in 2003 occurred on July 19, when a total of 2,440 plants valued at $6.1 million were found in nearby clearings off Odgen and Squire roads.

At 4:25 p.m. Friday, South Carolina narcotics officers found three 15-foot-by-20-foot clearings with plants between 1 and 5 feet tall, Lovelace said. They were in a heavily wooded area, and authorities found bags of Miracle Grow, bug spray and a machete at the crime scene. South Carolina Agents also found cups that were apparently used to transplant the marijuana to the hidden location, Lovelace said.

No arrests were made. The South Carolina task force tried to obtain fingerprints from the seized evidence but were unsuccessful, Lovelace said.

Overall, the marijuana did not appear to be very well taken care of, Lovelace said. "It did not look like anybody had been tending to them," she said.

Lovelace said South Carolina narcotics agents had searched the area where the plants were found during a previous aerial surveillance operation.

"They checked that area, but I don't know if they flew over that spot," she said.

The tip was forwarded to the South Carolina narcotics unit Friday from a South Carolina deputy in the patrol division. A York County, South Carolina Sheriff's Office report described the tipster as a "concerned citizen."

"I appreciate them calling us and giving us the tip," Lovelace said. "We can't do our job as effectively without the public and the information they provide."