TRUMBULL COUNTY During sweep, authorities find dozens of suspected pot plants

Arrests are expected once lab tests are in, one official said.
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Sheriff's Department confiscated 74 large suspected marijuana plants during a sweep Wednesday.
Chief Deputy Ernie Cook said the department used a helicopter from the state's Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to conduct the twice-yearly drug eradication program.
A team of deputies was on the ground and one was in the helicopter, Cook said.
Seventeen plants were found in Gustavus, 20 were found in Southington and 37 were found in Mesopotamia. The plants have a street value of about $1,000 each, he said.
Authorities in the morning scoured land east of Mosquito Lake and spent the afternoon in the western part of the county.
Cook said the plants would have been ready for harvest in two or three weeks and are usually 12 to 14 feet tall.
Their bright green color made them easy to spot from the air, Cook said, noting that surrounding vegetation was brown.
He explained the plants were found in wooded areas and agricultural fields.
Arrests will be made once BCI lab tests confirm the plants are marijuana, Cook said.
The eradication program seems to be working, officials say, because fewer plants were seized this year than in the past.