Swiss police busted pot growers with Google Earth
Put down that joint! Google — and the police — may be watching you. Swiss police stumbled across a massive marijuana plantation using Google Earth. The bust netted 16 arrests, 1.2 tons of pot, plus cash and valuables worth 900,000 Swiss Francs (US$780,000). The arrests were part of a larger operation, said the police. Officers were using Google Earth to find the addresses of two suspects, then coincidentally discovered two acres of weed hidden inside a corn field. Whoops.
Frank Taylor of the Google Earth blog had a few interesting questions about the case. He writes that the search was done in 2006, and Switzerland wasn’t updated in Google Earth until February 2007. “So, maybe there was a high res image in [Google Earth] back in 2006 that was more recent and did show the crop. I’d still like to know the location and see the original image the police used that shows the crop.” Criminals take note: you’re going to have to be an eensy bit cleverer in this digital age.
Source: PC World
Comments(52)
Sounds like invasion of privacy to me.
GOOD…pot is a gateway drug and a thorn in the side of our society. We caregive a man that fried his brain using pot…..yes, pot can and DOES do that. He hallucinates, has major violence issues, is incontinent, you name it, he is a mess. So WTG GOOGLE and Police.
Lol @Rick
Your friend tried to smoke his head? lol only irresponsible people dont know how to control themself with light drugs, weed is legal in one country, Amsterdam! and they shure are not entering into a genocide age. Be responsible and you will never get harmed, specially not for smoking weed…
Plenty of people smoke pot and hold down good jobs, like me. Saying it's a gateway drug is ignorant. It's like saying drinking a few beers is the gateway to drinking meths etc..
Not the pot that did that mate….He must have many other issues. I and many of my mates have been smokin da herb for over 25 years…Never fried our brains, all hold down good jobs. Ones a bank manager for gods sake…lol.
He must have got into more heavier stuff to be affected like that.
No Cannabis is not a gateway drug….Ciggarettes are the gateway drug. You'll smoke a cig before a joint……
I wish him well….
i felt a disturbance in the force, a great lose. guess that is what it was.
good, two less potheads roaming the streets. And saying its harmless is just a blatant lie, some little girl in my town was killed by a weed addict who smoking a joint and was so high he didnt even see her when he backed out of his driveway, and cruched her under the car. He dragged the girl a mile he was so high he didnt even notice.
Id like to see you tell the girls parents how harmless weed is I bet they would disagree.
@3 $hadow
Amsterdam is not a country, Netherlands is. Maybe you should stop smoking
what was the result? plant users went through? went to prison?
scary. we are almost in the zero privacy era thought at least another some odd decades.
so sad ;(
when will it be legal goddamit
where they will burn it ?? we must go!!
All these negative comment are really pointless. Marijuana is considered bad because not one entity has control over it. I'm pretty sure we all can name a few horror stories…but seriously if some light weight drinker has an accident I don't hear the news saying we should ban alcohol or if little Timmy shoots his eye out with a red rider bb gun we don't ban bbs…this is a joke. I know police officers, University professors and just about anyone working in customer service
"good, two less potheads roaming the streets. And saying its harmless is just a blatant lie, some little girl in my town was killed by a weed addict who smoking a joint and was so high he didnt even see her when he backed out of his driveway, and cruched her under the car. He dragged the girl a mile he was so high he didnt even notice.
Id like to see you tell the girls parents how harmless weed is I bet they would disagree."
Right to their face, while I'm puffin on a blunt. It's 1930 anymore. You can stop quoting "Reefer Madness".
people need to focus on more important issues than busting people for smoking pot — yes the guy who got high and killed the little girl deserves to go to jail… but not for smoking marijuana, for MURDERING a girl
Marijuana was originally the Apple that Eve offered to Adam. The bible just replaced that so its easier to interpret to kids. When Adamn smoked the joint Eve rolled for him his weiner got numbed and they screwed all night long, and you people were born.
switzerland ftw!
In the case you described, the pot didn't cause the girl's death, it was the decision to drive while he has high. A stupid man made that decision, not a plant.
Idiocy truly is unbeatable…
@1 its public when blatantly left ourdoors, not private.
That's what you get for growing crappy plants outdoors.
invasion of privacy, i think so.
but its a public arena!
anyone can download it and search the world for treasure!
Cannabis and people wit mental health issues don't mix.
smoking a spliff is as normal as a glass of wine.
Ive being smoking for 12 years
smoking some hash now.
@Ignorant people should shut their mouths.
People such as yourself need to get an education.
As has been said before, it wasn't the weed that made him get in his car and drive.
A few years back a guy drove over a woman crossing local street and literally cut her in half as he didn't realize he dragged her across a parking lot, then a busy street (with everyone honking and trying to stop him)before he went into a parking lot and her remains caught on the curb and were released from the vehicle.
His crime, DRUNK DRIVING! He pulled into a liquor store parking lot to get more when her torso popped out from under his car.
Booze is legal, its the idiots who drink and drive that are the problem.
Considering there isn't a single death in history due to smoking pot and many many thousands from drinking alcohol, very few car accidents from smoking pot and millions from driving drunk. I'd say you were clueless, uneducated and need to get your facts straight before telling people to shut their mouths.
lol, i live near where the fields have been found. i think the weed marked will now miss some suppliers :/
hail to United Pot Smokers
@ 17
m0ron. put down the bong and come back to reality. If the guy wasnt smoking he would have seen the girl, or at least heard her screaming. Because he was so doped up he was oblivious to his surroundings, if he was sober the little girl would still be alive today.
Im guessing then that you wouldnt care if a pothead ran over someone in your family? i bet you woulnt be saying "ooh its harmless, it wasnt his fault"
yeah, some people cant handle weed its addictive, most can though. Just like alcohol, some people cant even have one drink most can do it in moderation.
I would say its easier and more dangerous to get into heavy drinking then weed smoking. Heavy weed usage does have problems but heavy drinking can lead to so much worse including death from just the alcohol… cant die from weed withdrawal its not even physically addictive just mentally. Ive been smoking for almost 10 years now, ihave been 2 days without ganj and all im having is a little urge to smoke like a ciggarette and trouble sleeping. If it was 10years of daily alcohol use i would be shaking and convulsing.
screw thc… mdma is where the funs at
here some pictures of the confiscated cannabis and money:
http://files.newsnetz.ch/bildlegende/19935/1IMG_1160.JPG
http://files.newsnetz.ch/bildlegende/19935/2IMG_1166.JPG
http://files.newsnetz.ch/bildlegende/19935/Sichergestelltes-Geld.jpg
http://files.newsnetz.ch/bildlegende/19935/3IMG_1164.JPG
http://files.newsnetz.ch/bildlegende/19935/4IMG_1168.JPG
http://files.newsnetz.ch/bildlegende/19935/5IMG_1163.JPG
and here is a google-maps link which shows the hidden field (not 100% sure it's the right spot):
http://maps.google.ch/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&geocode=&q=+47%C2%B037%2745.44%22N+9%C2%B0+3%2729.10%22E&sll=46.362093,9.036255&sspn=5.693654,9.84375&ie=UTF8&ll=47.629385,9.058163&spn=0.00543,0.009613&t=h&z=17
dope is for smelly hippies who have no jobs and get to sit home and smoke bongs all day. If you want to be a functioning, contributing member of society dope is the last thing you should be smoking.
wow just wow. That is epically brilliant.
I just feel pity for people who defend smoking weed. It makes it user slow (and dumb) in longer use, you cant avoid that fact. Alcohol doesnt do that, not that im protecting it either but its more fatal when used too much that weed isnt. Tried weed once and that was enough for proving that its not worth it, as its also illegal in my country (as in many others). Alcohol gives hangover which weed doesnt so its not worth it either. Spend your money to smth more useful than messing your heads up with anything and if you're not, nobody cares about how safe that and that intoxicant is.
47°37'45.44"N 9° 3'29.10"E – paste into google earth to see the plants surrounded by croppage and trees; gotta admire the neatness of it!
@ 15:adam&eve
yeah we did come from adam and eve. u probably came from apes. stfu mofo!
Lets see
Bush did cocain, heavy Booze and Pot
Obama did cocain and Pot
Clinton did Pot but claims he didn't inhale.
Think I will keep on tokin maybe one day I'll be President
Didn't Moses speak to a burning bush that spoke back
Makes You think
@lollero said: "Alcohol doesnt do that"
you are absolutely wrong. alcohol is more damaging and dangerous than cannabis.
here is a list of drugs ordered by harmfulness considering several aspects created by uk scientists:
(1) Heroin (most harmful).
(2) Cocaine.
(3) Barbiturates.
(4) Street Methodone.
(5) Alcohol.
(6) Ketamine.
(7) Benzodiazepines.
(8) Amphetamine.
(9) Tobacco.
(10) Buprenorphine.
(11) Cannabis.
(12) Solvents.
(13) 4-MTA (para-methylthioamphetamine).
(14) LSD.
(15) Methylphenidate (ritalin).
(16) Anabolic steroids.
(17) GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid).
(18) Ecstasy.
(19) Alkyl nitrites.
(20) Khat (least harmful).
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6474053.stm
here is the same list with numbers of deaths per drug and year and so on: http://www.angryharry.com/reDrugsRanking.htm
A guy who smoked marijuana killed a girl with his car?!? Well I saw a clean woman ran over another woman and instead of breaking she hit the gas pedal and dragged her 100m killing the woman who otherwise would only have a broken leg… Imagine if she didn't saw her…
Is it the drug or the stupid behind the wheel?
here is a picture of what the police found
Enjoy
http://www.korben.info/wp-content/uploads/img299.imageshack.us/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/090129-swiss-marijuana-830a.hmedium.jpg
@29 lollero You put together one of the most idiootic made up paragraphs in the history of the internet,saying things that are completly made up,such as 'I just feel pity for people who defend smoking weed. It makes it user slow (and dumb) in longer use, you cant avoid that fact. Alcohol doesnt do that…',when people go out drinking they kill more brain cells in one night than you could if you smoked weed for a week sol.id.Apart from that you want to have a look in your local mental asylum,they are full of people with drinking related mental illnesses.Comparing the two of alcohol and weed,alcoholhas been known for decades to be one of the most damaging drugs known if nut through addiction then through heart disease etc.
Excellent news! It's time law enforcement started using modern technology to bust criminals! Please, more of this! I couldn't care less about my privacy if they take down some criminals with these methods. And yes, pot-growers are big criminals who often engage in violence and other nasty stuff.
Long live the policestate! And I'm not being sarcastic!
@23 Weed is for doped up morons
"m0ron. put down the bong and come back to reality. If the guy wasnt smoking he would have seen the girl, or at least heard her screaming. Because he was so doped up he was oblivious to his surroundings, if he was sober the little girl would still be alive today. "
You sound so sure of yourself? Last week a woman backed up in an arc 40' and right into the front of my parked truck, which was VERY easy to see in her little car. People don't look, people don't pay attention, your ASSUMPTION is based on nothing but your own personal and rather unqualified opinion.
lol wats funny is to hear a couple people talk about marijuana causing deaths, but how many people a year are killed due to drunk driving?
@ 38 QuadrupelQ:
by that fact that you are surfing rlslog.net i assume you are most likely downloading copyrighted material. so in your opinion you have to be a criminal yourself!
Pot growers getting busted is never good news.
http://www.popsci.com/rachel-durfee/article/2008-09/getting-high-your-health , take that marijuana haters
Governments will never legalize pot. It represents peace man & sure as f*ck dont want that. So everyone keep drinking & lets go blow up Iraq!
Hey, we can also use Google Earth to find choice growing spots! works both ways
@44, weed=peace-
Actually the problem is that it can't be regulated like tobacco and there aren't any deep-pocketed lobbying parties for marijuana… If we could get some influential people (read: RICH) into the mix, that could change.
Clap your hands in hope and they'll just go numb.
The police busted my plants too ;(. My neighbour thought he was doing the society a favor by telling the police. Damn snitch. The weed was for personal use only. But anyway, I`ve been to a lot of countries in europe and asia, and I never had any problem to find something to smoke in each one of them. So light`em if u got`em. And if u dont, shut the fcuk up!
Cannabis was originally prohibited for purely economic reasons, but these days it could easily be regulated and taxed. There is no convincing evidence that it is any more dangerous than legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol and every day another persons life is destroyed by the police simply for having a good time, it's obviously wrong to criminalise people simply for smoking a bit of pot.
Yes you shouldn't drive when you're high, drunk, tired or upset – everyone knows this, and if you abuse any substance to excess it will give you health problems.
I'm not told I can't buy drain cleaner in case I'm dumb enough to drink it, or put in jail for buying beer in case I decide to drive drunk. LEGALISE IT!
But how would I do that whwen I'am High all the time???
@8 pooptypot
good call on that one
lol maybe i should stop smoking
Anyways, what i wanted to say is that the person itself is responsible for its acts, if i see a loaded gun and aim at somneone for fun and press the trigger, it is my fault that i did that, not gun´s fault.
Just because you have tons of weed or MD, doesnt mean that you have to take it all and trash the whole planet with your insanity, what will you do after? "Sorry judje, it was the weed's fault! i swear!" please grow up.
The only thing im against about drugs is its own traffic under violence and corruption, but, it might be one of the biggest profits for some countries (not saying that i agree with it)
Resuming, saying that weed is "bad" is childish, and about the people killed by "on high" drivers i just have one thing to say, im 100% sure that the "weed" wasnt convicted but the driver itself.
Grow up, be responsible and stop blaming inanimated stuff, cause i dont want to be considered guilty because my poop was somehow used to fertilize the weed that someone somked it and then killed its own country…
"Just because an apple falled into the ground, doesnt mean that the ground climbed up the tree"
Nice sentence from my old philosophy teacher
now, where is my bong…
Nice job i say!
Get ride of the trailer trash,use them as dog food or something.
Oh, but you'll never hear how they track paedophiles, murderers and violent criminals. They're only interested in people making money and cheating the tax system.
I Britain you can get 5 years for posession of cannabis, 3 years for kidnapping and raping children, and many murderers get off with about 4-5 years too.