OKANOGAN – Five people were arrested and some 40,000 marijuana plants were destroyed in Tonasket and the Methow Valley areas during the past two weeks.
     “For the past three months the (North Central Washington Narcotics) Task Force has been investigation two drug traffic organizations” who have planted marijuana on Forest Service and state Department of Natural Resources lands, task force Sgt. Brad Wilson said.
     In the Sinalahekin and Lost Lake area, some 10,000 growing marijuana plants were harvested and three arrests were made.
     In the Black Canyon and Boulder Creek areas, another 10,000 plants were harvested and two people were arrested, Wilson said.
     Those arrested were turned over to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for federal charging and prosecution. The Mexican citizens were taken to the Spokane County Jail.
     Wilson said some of the growing operations were discovered by helicopter pilots working with the multi-agency eradication response team, and others were reported by people who came across them in the woods.
     He said a $5,000 reward is offered to people who anonymously report marijuana growing sites.