But the challenge for law enforcement remains in outsmarting criminals who are increasingly using high-tech equipment to produce drugs in remote areas of county, he said. Methamphetamine labs have also popped up in rural barns and orchards. Last year, authorities raided an operation near Camarillo that they suspect was set up by a Los Angeles drug ring. We are constantly pressured. Initially developed by the military, the infrared devices produce a picture in shades of gray.
Objects emitting heat show up as white images.
For this reason, these devices are commonly used on helicopters to look for missing people or to track suspects at night. But in the past three years, the devices have evolved into a new tool for narcotics squads trying to bust marijuana-growing operations. Dennis Carpenter, who heads the department's narcotics unit, said the scanners are used only in cases where authorities have already obtained information about a possible pot nursery. For indoor marijuana production, growers must have heat lamps running through a 24-hour cycle, he said. When detectives check with the power company and learn that the amount of electricity is substantially above normal, they can then use thermal imaging as one more way to determine if illegal growing may be occurring, he said.