On Friday, Jan. 3, nearly $800,000 worth of marijuana and THC was located in forest areas in Sedona and near Rimrock.

Around 8 a.m., Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office depu­ties were called to U.S. Forest Service land outside of Rimrock regarding several unattended packages of marijuana.

Forest Service personnel initially thought the pile was trash until closer inspection. There were over 30 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana weighing a total of 48 pounds. During a search of the area, deputies located another package that contained several sheets of pre-packaged THC wax.

There was no immediate evidence as to ownership or suspects involved. Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking detectives were contacted and are handling the investigation.

Later that day at around 2 p.m., PANT detectives were notified by the Sedona Police Department regarding found packages containing marijuana. Sedona police had received a phone call about suspicious packages discov­ered in a wooded area within city limits.

PANT detectives arrived to assist officers and noted the packages were similar in appearance to those found earlier on Forest Service land. There were more than 230 packages, each weighing around 1.5 pounds, totaling 357 pounds. A package containing THC wax was also located that weighed about 7.5 pounds.

PANT detectives estimate the street value of the mari­juana at $648,000 and over $100,000 for the THC wax. The investigation into both these seizures is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the packages and/or suspect(s) involved, should call Yavapai Silent Witness at (800) 932-3232. A direct tip that leads to arrests in this case becomes eligible for a cash reward.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents and visitors to call law enforcement immediately if suspi­cious packages are located. While YCSO stated “contra­band may be booby-trapped or may contain dangerous chemicals which could be harmful to humans,” YCSO provided no evidence of either booby traps nor dangerous chemicals on these packages.