Task force officers found and seized 120 suspected marijuana plants from the backyards of three Clark County homes during an eradication effort there, Aug. 15.

The plants, valued at $120,000, were spotted from the air by a Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification helicopter.

Plants were spotted in two yards on Mavor Street in Springfield one in Harmony Township.

Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said this is the 26th consecutive year that his department has used helicopters to search for illegal activity from the air.

“We were able to spot not one but two households where marijuana was being grown in the backyard,” Kelly said of the Mavor Street bust. He said it did not initially appear as though the grow operations were connected.

Exact addresses and names of the homeowners have not been released pending possible charges of cultivating marijuana.

All the plants were submitted to the Miami Valley Crime Laboratory for analysis, and charges will be filed once they are confirmed to be marijuana, Kelly said.

One of the homeowners claimed they thought the plants were catnip, but Kelly said the plants were very well cared for and green despite drought-like conditions.

Also during the eradication efforts, police spotted and recovered a stolen 1993 Toyota Camry in a field off of Innisfallen Avenue in Springfield. The Camry was reported stolen out of German Township in May.

“This is the advantage of having a helicopter,” Kelly said. “It’s amazing what you can see from the air.”

Jennifer Powell lives on Mavor Street and witnessed officers removing the plants from a home there.

“They were taking machetes out of the vehicles and cutting things down,” she said. “The truck that came down here, it was full (of plants).”