Charges Pending Following Operation

SOUTHSIDE – A joint North Carolina-Virginia marijuana eradication operation July 25-26 yielded more than 800 plants seized in Granville, Vance and Warren counties. Two stolen vehicles were recovered as well. On the north side of the state line, the Virginia State Police seized 25 plants and 20 illegal firearms in Mecklenburg County, Va. Charges are pending on one individual.

North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation and the Virginia State Police coordinated the multiagency operation that took place along the border of the two states.

“The partnerships we have at the state and local level and with our partners to the north made this operation successful,” said Lynn Gay, assistant special agent in charge of the SBI’s Capitol District. “No one agency brought more to the table than another. It was a group effort, and everyone’s input helped achieve our goal of putting illegal growers out of business.”

The N.C. State Highway Patrol, the N.C. National Guard and the SBI provided aerial surveillance. Other participants included the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the sheriffs’ offices from the three counties. The Mecklenburg County, Va. Sheriff’s Office and Virginia National Guard assisted the Virginia State Police with the eradication efforts.

“In my years of being with the Virginia State Police, I have never seen a joint eradication operation between the two state bureaus to include local departments on both sides of the state line,” said F/Sgt. Tony Barksdale of the Drug Enforcement Section of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office. “I deem the operation a success and praise the efforts put forth by all agencies involved.”

“The season is not over for the Marijuana Eradication Program,” Gay said. “We have agents trained to spot grow operations from the air and we will be back.”

Anyone in Virginia with tips or information on marijuana grow operations and/or manufacturing is encouraged to contact the Virginia State Police by dialing #77 on a cell phone or 434-352-7128 or by contacting BCI-Appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov.