Quitman County Sheriff Lon Ming inspects
marijuana plants seized in Georgetown.
(Andy Brown/Media General News Service)
Quitman Co. Sheriff Lon Ming says the theft of close to 400 marijuana plants from City Hall Tuesday night may have been an "inside job."
"I'm sure it's a possibility," Ming told the Eufala Tribune newspaper.
However, speaking with GPB News, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Mike Lewis would neither confirm or deny Ming's statement, or that there were suspects in the case.
The plants, seized in a bust on a wooded field last Thursday, were valued at $380,000.
The thieves also set fire to the Old City Hall building where the drugs were stored, adjacent to the Quitman County Sheriff's office, causing an estimated $10,000 damage.
"There was a great deal of smoke damage, but structurally, the building is intact,"Lewis said, but added that there was significant damage to the evidence room, where the marijuana was being kept.
"After seizing the marijuana plants, they set fire to the building, I suppose in hopes of covering up the fact they stole the marijuana. However, the fire did not destroy the building as they thought. The state fire marshal's office has ruled it an arson, and we are jointly conducting an investigation."The GBI is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonists, and Ming said any information in the case was welcome:
- Georgia Arson Control Hotline: 1-800-282-5804
- Quitman Co. Sheriff's Department: 229-334-3726
More GPB coverage of this story is here.
