Area police agencies across Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties got a helping hand from several area state environmental conservation officers in the harvesting of a cash crop...of the illegal kind. The ECOs assisted several agencies including the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, State Police and the Army National Guard with marijuana eradication efforts during late August and early September. As a result, over 600 illegal plants were seized along with 10 pounds of dried processed marijuana in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties. In Chautauqua County, the State Police Aviation Unit observed a large number of marijuana plants near state land, resulting in the ECOs seizing 137 plants.
Photo by Department of Environmental Conservation
