ST. GEORGE — Law enforcement officials in southern Utah have a message to would-be growers of marijuana: We won't just destroy your plants, we'll send you to prison for a long time.
Federal prosecutors, the Drug Enforcement Administration and county sheriffs met Thursday in St. George to prepare to fight the marijuana trade in Utah this summer.
Law enforcement officials are convinced work is already under way for illegal marijuana grows in Utah. Water lines are being installed and the ground is being cultivated and fertilized.
Growers like southern Utah because of the warmer temperatures, which lend to a better growing season, and sparse population.
In July 2010, law enforcement authorities in Panguitch raided an illegal marijuana grow site and destroyed close to 8,000 plants. It was an elaborate setup, and the growers even tapped into the city's water supply. In August, the Garfield County Sheriff's Office confiscated well over 17,000 marijuana plants that were found in two locations roughly five miles east of Boulder.
While that amount of plants seized sounds like a lot, it was just a fraction of the more than 106,000 marijuana plants seized in Utah last year.
"To eradicate the plants is one thing," said Kevin Merrill with the DEA. "But (we) also build a case against the individuals responsible for the grows and put them in jail for a long time."
Last year, the 17 grow operations busted in Utah resulted in 24 people arrested and prosecuted under federal drug trafficking charges, which carry stiff prison sentences.
While authorities hope the prosecutions serve as a deterrent, they are also concerned about the public safety risk posed by the illegal operations that are often found in Utah's vast and remote public lands enjoyed by Utahns and tourists every summer.
"Marijuana grows are cultivated and frequently guarded by individuals who entered this country illegally, who have lengthy criminal histories, who carry firearms and who are often tied to drug trafficking Mexican cartels," said Carlie Christensen, U.S. attorney for Utah.
Law enforcement officials fear growers are becoming more desperate to protect the plants and themselves, which means stumbling onto a marijuana grow while enjoying Utah's back country could be deadly.
"We are finding more and more weapons in the grows, as they attempt to protect the crops they are growing," Washington County Sheriff Cory Pulsipher said. "It is becoming increasingly dangerous, and there is that threat that our citizens can be out there hiking and in the area recreating and come across these things."
Their advice? "Take care of your own personal safety and get out of the area," said Special Agent Mike McKinney with the U.S. Forest Service.
But officials want hikers to report their discovery to authorities, particularly the location. "In this day and age, a lot of people have GPS units on them or their cellphones," McKinney said. "If you can get a GPS coordinate that is always helpful to law enforcement.
While police are more aggressive in going after these marijuana grows, they admit it is an uphill battle against lucrative criminal enterprise. The street value of the marijuana seized in Utah last summer was $215 million.
"I think that as long as there is a demand for it," Pulsipher said, "there will be someone willing to try to supply it."