NATCHEZ &8212; The red and black helicopters flying over the Miss-Lou all week have found what they were looking for.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Louisiana State Police seized 450 marijuana plants this week, Sgt. Jerry Mitchell with the Louisiana State Police said Thursday.

They found plants on the Black River Thursday and in Concordia Parish, Vidalia and Tensas Parish throughout the week, Mitchell said.

The joint operation happens one week every summer, he said.

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics seized some plants in Mississippi Thursday, too, but were not flying, Mitchell said.

Once the officers in helicopters spot the bright green plants, they give ground crews the coordinates. The ground crews then get to the patch by boats or all-terrain vehicles pull up and destroy the plants.

If the plants are in a remote area the ground crew cannot reach, the officers in the helicopters take care of the patch.

Sometimes they wait and set up surveillance on a patch, Mitchell said, to try to catch the growers.

Marijuana farming is pretty common in the area, Mitchell said.

&8220;Typically this is a fairly productive area,&8221; Mitchell said. &8220;Up to this point this year, we&8217;ve seized 5,000 plants statewide.&8221;

They brought back some plants, from inches high to 10 feet tall, to the Natchez -Adams County Airport to burn Thursday.

The operation was a success, said Lt. Russell Hall with the Coast Guard.

&8220;Each time we&8217;ve flown we&8217;ve had some sort of bust,&8221; Hall said. &8220;It&8217;s been very fruitful.&8221;

Hall said the operation helped state and federal officers work together.

&8220;After Katrina, we wanted to get more involved with state stuff,&8221; Hall said. &8220;One way was to help combat the drug problem that&8217;s been present in Louisiana for a while.&8221;

The helicopters flew in and out of the Natchez-Adams County Airport because it is the only place to get fuel for one of the coast guard helicopters, Mitchell said.