Posted 10:40 PM 9/30/2012 : BP agents find marijuana growing in Huachucas
SIERRA VISTA - Sonoita Border Patrol agents found marijuana growing in the Huachuca Mountains Saturday.
The plants were about 2 feet tall and worth about $2,100, according to Border Patrol.
"It doesn't surprise me," Tommy Stoner said at his campsite near where the plants were found.
He said finding a stash could be dangerous.
"It depends on if the owners, the ones that planted it are still in the area," Stoner said, "because they could protect them."
Road signs warn visitors about smuggling and illegal immigration.
Connie Scammell hikes in the area regularly.
"They don't mess with us," Scammell said, "because if they did, that would give them publicity that they don't want. They go the back trail."
Arizona Game and Fish Department officers frequently find evidence of smuggling, according to their spokesperson Mark Hart.
In 2009, officers were even shot at near Amado.
"Exercise caution," Hart said. "We don't think it's unsafe to go in the borderlands, but you have to be heads-up about it."
He said always tell people where you are going and when you will be back. A cell phone and GPS are helpful if you get in trouble.
Hart said anybody who witnesses illegal activity should leave the area.