Over 4500 Marijuana Plants Eradicated Near Wenden, Arizona
Four separate grows discovered
YUMA, Ariz. - The Drug Enforcement (DEA) along with the Arizona Department of Public (DPS) eradicated and destroyed more than 4500 marijuana plants found growing along the Centennial Wash, near Wenden, Arizona in La Paz County. The plants ranged from 3 to 6 feet high and were located in four separate grows throughout the one acre site.
The marijuana cultivation operation was located in the middle of a grove of Salt Cedar trees, near the edge of a small tributary. Each of the four grows had its own irrigation system powered by a pump that emitted water through an underground watering drip system. The field had a security fence that surrounded the entire one-acre field. An abandoned .22 Caliber rifle was found at the site.
DEA and DPS began an investigation in late spring that led to the discovery of the grow.
"This eradication operation means that thousands of marijuana plants never made it into our neighborhoods," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman. "DEA will continue to support our law enforcement partners in attacking all aspects of drug trafficking and the violence that goes hand in hand with the distribution of these harmful substances."
The DEA’s Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression (DCE/SP) is the only nationwide law enforcement program that exclusively targets Drug Trafficking (DTO) involved in cannabis cultivation. The DCE/SP began funding eradication programs in Hawaii and California in 1979. Since that time, the program has expanded to all 50 states, and provides support and resources to 111 state and local law enforcement agencies that participate in the program.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and DPS and assisted by the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Department of (ADOT) and the Salome Fire Department.
