EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police drug section in northwestern New Brunswick has had a banner year in harvesting marijuana plants, especially in the last two weeks.

A large seizure of more than 10,000 near-mature plants was made over Labor Day weekend. That was followed with another major find Sept. 6 and several smaller finds since then.

The second large find was about the same as the Labor Day weekend seizure made near Val Lambert, New Brunswick. The second find, consisting of 10,256 plants, was made in St. Joseph, New Brunswick, a small village northwest of Edmundston.

Both finds were made within 10 miles of the Maine border.

The RCMP also has made other seizures during the last week amounting to another 1,000 plants. Since April, the RCMP in northwestern New Brunswick has seized nearly 30,000 marijuana plants.

All of the cases remain under investigation. A 24-year-old Val Lambert-area man is scheduled to appear in court in early November. Charges will be brought at that time.

“It’s been a good fall; actually it’s been good since April,” Sgt. Gaetan Germain of the RCMP said Wednesday. “I don’t think it’s over.

“We keep getting tips, and we keep seizing more plants,” he said.

Germain didn’t know where the marijuana goes for processing or sale. He admitted it’s too much marijuana for the local market.

“They have been big seizures, and it just can’t be for local use,” he said. “It must be bound for larger cities, and maybe across the border.”

Local police have never seen these kinds of seizures in northwestern New Brunswick. The biggest year before this year was four years ago when the RCMP confiscated 6,000 plants in Madawaska and Victoria counties.

The plants found during the last two weeks were harvested and destroyed, said the officer.

The street value of the plants confiscated this year has been estimated at more than $5 million.

Also involved in the harvesting operations were officers of the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy and the Canadian Customs and Excise Unit.