Moses Lake detective honored

Located more than 100,000 marijuana plants

MOSES LAKE — A Grant County Sheriff's Office detective was honored for his achievements and service including locating more than 100,000 marijuana plants.

Detective Matt Messer, 34, of Moses Lake, accepted a plaque recognizing his service, in Washington D.C. Jan. 18.

"During the period of Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 31, 2007, Detective Messer assisted the Drug Enforcement Administration's Seattle Field Division as a reconnaissance spotter. He logged in more than 160 hours of flight time and located over 20 marijuana fields of varying sizes, resulting in the eradication of thousands of marijuana plants and the arrests of dozens of suspects," said DEA Special Agent Matt Duran.

Duran nominated Messer for the award for his work with spotting marijuana fields from aircraft.

"When rotary aircraft was unavailable, he took the initiative to fly spotting missions from fixed-wing craft which resulted in the discovery of marijuana fields under thick canopies of wild Russian olive trees, he said."

Olive trees used as a canopy for the fields is the newest drug trafficking trend in Washington state, he added.

"Due to his initiative and ability to locate plants under heavy cover, numerous marijuana growers were seized and eradicated that otherwise would not have been detected," Duran said.

Messer has worked in law enforcement for more than 12 years and serves as a detective on the major crimes unit with the sheriff's office. He completed a seven-year rotation with the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team. Through the team he trained to locate marijuana from various aircraft. He works with the DEA and the National Guard to find and eradicate marijuana all over the state.