Crime & Safety

200 Marijuana Plants Destroyed in Lehigh County, DA Says

Marijuana plants were found and destroyed in South Whitehall and six other Lehigh County townships, according to the District Attorney's office.

Law enforcement officials found and destroyed 200 marijuana plants in seven different locations throughout Lehigh County last week, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's office.

Investigators found 200 plants in Lynn Township, Weisenberg Township, Lower Macungie Township, South Whitehall Township, Heidelberg Township, Whitehall Township and North Whitehall Township.

The coordinated aerial search was conducted by detectives with the Lehigh County Drug Task Force and the Pennsylvania National Guard Counterdrug Aviation Unit and were assisted by the Allentown Police Department. 

Find out what's happening in South Whitehallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The team found and destroyed 200 marijuana plants in cornfields and woods in Lehigh County that are not easily detected from the ground.  The detectives scanned cornfields and wooded areas and also surveyed clearings where plants are easier to identify.

Detectives  used machetes to cut down the plants and then burned them, according to Joseph P. Stauffer, Chief Detective of the Task Force.

Find out what's happening in South Whitehallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

No one was charged with drug offenses because there was no evidence to indicate that the property owners were aware that marijuana plants were growing on their properties, Stauffer said.

There was no significant increase from the number of plants found in previous years, according to Stauffer.

One pound of marijuana usually can be harvested from one plant. The average price of a pound of home-grown marijuana is about $2,000, Stauffer said.



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from South Whitehall