Authorities seize nearly $2 million worth of plants

ATHENS - Authorities seized nearly $2 million worth of marijuana plants Tuesday, pulling about 1,600 plants out of the ground in Oglethorpe and Wilkes counties. <br> <br> ``That gives you an idea of the damage done to the pocketbooks of the local growers,&#39;&#39; state Department of Public Safety spokesman Jim Schuler said. <br> <br> Four Georgia State Patrol and National Guard helicopters were involved in Tuesday&#39;s operation, according to the Governor&#39;s Drug Task force. <br> <br> The task force, made up of state troopers, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, state Department of Natural Resources officers and local law enforcement officers, found some 1,250 plants in nine locations in rural Oglethorpe County, Schuler said. <br> <br> Another 32 plants were seized in Clarke County after a pilot spotted them growing behind a Whitehead Road home, Athens-Clarke Drug and Vice Unit Mike Hunsinger said. <br> <br> Police and GBI agents issued a search warrant at the home. Alan Leonard Gordon, 32, was charged with manufacturing marijuana and felony possession of marijuana. <br> <br> Schuler said the operation will continue through the summer.