OHIO: Burglar steals marijuana from drug agents

OHIO: Burglar steals marijuana from drug agents

Posted by Damian G. Guevara August 14, 2007 18:49PM


Chardon -- First the drug agents took the marijuana away from an illegal home-grow operation. Then a burglar took it away from the drug agents.

A secret stash of marijuana -- supposedly safeguarded by local drug agents in a van trailer -- is missing after a burglar picked his way into the storage unit, the Geauga County sheriff said.

The thief, or thieves, likely had no clue agents were using the storage for contraband, or that marijuana was inside, Sheriff Dan McClelland said.

McClelland said he was "not pleased" with the break-in. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday.

The stolen marijuana was the proceeds of a bust in June that Geauga authorities touted as the largest in the county's history. Drug agents found 580 marijuana plants valued at nearly $600,000 inside a Chardon home. A 27-year-old man was charged in that case.

Investigators sent the pot to a crime lab. When it came back, drug agents locked the dope in the trailer and temporarily parked the trailer on private property in a location McClelland would not reveal. The thief cut the lock on the trailer. Police discovered the break-in July 30.

The crook took half the bags inside the trailer: four bags of marijuana plants weighing a total of 15 pounds. The value of the plants has not been determined.

The marijuana was not cured for consumption and it's questionable whether anyone can sell it.

"Whether it's salvageable is undetermined," McClelland said.

The theft -- and whether drug agents followed policy -- is under investigation, McClelland said.

Investigators suspect the burglar is the same person who broke into several area businesses in recent weeks, McClelland said. The theft should not have an effect on the upcoming drug case, he said.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/08/burglar_steals_marijuana_from.html


DaBronx