Florida Cops Bag 135 Suspects, $41M In Marijuana In Statewide Grow House Busts

Coordinated raids on suspected marijuana grow houses across Florida last week netted at least 135 arrests and seizure of high-potency pot plants worth an estimated $41 million on the street, law enforcement officials said Thursday. The raids took place Wednesday [...], from the Florida Keys to the Panhandle, and identified about 150 homes with indoor growing operations.

Brevard County: The Brevard County Sheriffs Office Special Investigations Unit dismantled a sophisticated indoor Marijuana grow operation after serving two search warrants. Sixty mature Marijuana plants were found to be growing and prepared for the cultivation harvest process. The Brevard County Sheriffs Office has dismantled 11 marijuana grow operations to date this year. See Deputies Dismantle Merritt Island Grow House.

Charlotte County: On April 30, narcotics detectives of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office raided two marijuana grow houses in Prairie Creek Park, about 10 miles east of Punta Gorda this afternoon. These are the 9th and 10th grow houses raided so far this year in Charlotte County. A detective said there were 395 total plants seized in one home, and 123 potted plants in the other home, not counting numerous marijuana "clone" or starter plants which which were also found. See Two more marijuana grow houses discovered.

Indian River County: A statewide crackdown on marijuana grow houses found one in Indian River County this week, county sheriff's officials said Thursday. Last Wednesday, investigators allegedly found 91 marijuana plants, plus growing equipment, said one detective. During the statewide law enforcement operation that culminated Wednesday, officers found 9,249 marijuana plants in 150 homes and 135 people were arrested throughout Florida. See Grow house found in crackdown in Vero Beach.

South Florida: For the three populous South Florida counties, Miami-Dade had 50 grow houses, 49 arrests and more than 2,200 plants; Broward had nine houses, 10 arrests and more than 300 plants; and Palm Beach had 18 houses, 15 arrests and almost 1,000 plants. See Police Raid Alleged Marijuana Grow Houses In Statewide Operation (135 Arrested; Pot Plants Worth $41 Million Seized).

Columbia County: Law enforcement authorities raided three Columbia homes used as marijuana “grow houses” Wednesday night in area of upscale subdivisions and seized more than $500,000 worth of marijuana plants. The Columbia County investigations also led authorities to a home in Union County where more than 100 plants where seized. See Officials seize ‘grow houses’ worth an estimated $500,000 (Local raids were part of organized, statewide sting).

Sarasota County: Three Sarasota County homes were raided as part of a coordinated statewide crackdown at locations suspected of being marijuana grow houses. Two of the homes were in North Port and one was in Sarasota. Cops copped at least 200 marijuana plants. See Grow houses raided.

Marion County: One day after drug agents cast a wide net across the state, snuffing marijuana grow houses and uprooting plants, Marion County authorities added a fourth arrest to their tally. All together in Marion, agents found 507 plants at four separate grow houses. See Sweep halks up new drug charges.

Volusia County: Two smaller-scale grow houses were broken up on Thursday, one in Deltona and the other in Osteen. 24 plants were seized; no one was arrested. See 135 arrested, $41 million in pot plants seized in grow house raids.

Hernando & Pinellas Counties: A statewide crackdown by authorities on marijuana grow houses led to three operations being busted Thursday in Pinellas and Hernando counties. One bust resulted in the discovery of 276 marijuana plants in one house, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said. In Brooksville, Hernando County sheriff's deputies found 123 marijuana plants and about 8 pounds of loose pot in one home and seized 352 plants, about 29 pound of loose marijuana and various equipment in another. See Statewide Bust Bags Pot Grow Houses.

Clay & St. Johns Counties: About 650 marijuana plants were seized in Clay and St. Johns counties as part of a drug task force raid this week to cut down on grow houses. In Clay, the Sheriff's Office said authorities found 228 plants in four homes prompting the arrest of five people. In St. Johns, authorities found 429 plants, about a pound of processed marijuana and 11 firearms in seven homes, the Sheriff's Office said. Two people were arrested -and several arrest warrants were pending. See LAW & DISORDER: Task force seizes 650 plants in 2-county pot crackdown.

Pasco County: Pasco County Sheriff's Office Vice and Narcotics Unit say they have made an arrest in a marijuana growing operation. Officers say they found 117 marijuana plants amd $2,000 in cash. See Marijuana grow house bust in Pasco County.

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Marijuana "Grow House" Report

The following links are to recent stories throughout the country involving the use of single family homes as "grow houses", or "indoor pot farms":

• There is an explosion in South Florida of hydroponics marijuana being grown inside normal-looking homes using artificial sunlight (see Immigrants Care For Marijuana Crops In South Florida), or watch the NBC Channel 6 TV report - Illegal Crop Caretakers - Hydroponic Homes)
.

• Deputies bust at least eight marijuana grow houses in upscale homes in quiet suburban neighborhoods in California this week, hauling in thousands of plants worth millions of dollars (see Be alert for pot farming next door)
.

• Police raid Port St Lucie, FL marijuana grow house; uncover about 50 pot plants (see Another alleged pot grow house raided in PSL)
.

• Arrest warrants issued for two believed connected with indoor pot farm in Lawreceville, Georgia marijuana grow house (see Warrants issued in pot case), or watch Associated Press video - Pot farm in the suburbs
.

• Narcotics task force arrest one; confiscate over 100 pot plants from Chino, California home (see Pot house smoked out), or see Chino Police Arrest Video
.

• Lee County, Florida Sheriff’s detectives bust four indoor pot farms, seized plants with over $900K in street value; arrest two; detectives say it's not even close to what is still out there (see Four grow houses busted, 397 plants seized), or watch NBC2 TV report; Lee County Sheriff's Office takes down 17 grow houses and seized $2.8 million worth of pot in 2007 (see Sheriff's Press Release)
• Suspected Cape Coral, Florida grow house catches fire; cops were expected to execute search warrants on the home soon; no comment on cause of fire or quantity of marijuana, if any, in the home (see Suspected Cape grow house catches fire).

Go here for links to other stories on indoor pot farms.

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Traffic Stop Results In Arrest For Mortgage Fraud, Operating Indoor Pot Farm

TC Palm reports:

• A sophisticated, elaborate marijuana grow house is being dismantled today after a 31-year-old man told officials questioning him about a warrant that he was growing pot in his home. Carlos Andres Bermudez was arrested on an outstanding warrant for mortgage fraud after he was pulled over on a traffic stop, but as Bermudez was being taken into custody, deputies noticed a strong odor of marijuana on his clothing, according to law enforcement officials. Bermudez, who faces charges including cultivation of marijuana and mortgage fraud, told deputies he was growing marijuana in his home ... . When deputies entered the home, they found more than 100 marijuana plants growing in three rooms.

For more, see The nose knows: Strong pot smell on driver leads to grow house bust in St. Lucie. (no longer available online)

Go here to watch St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office video on the indoor pot farm.

See also, Deputies discover luxurious grow house (no longer available online), and Elaborate Marijuana Grow House Discovered In Ft. Pierce.

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Gas Leak From Illegal Hookup Tapped Into Con Ed Supply Line Suspected Cause Of Explosion In Rented Bronx House Used As Indoor Pot Farm; Blast Kills FDNY Battalion Chief, Leaves 20 Others Injured; Two Tenants In Custody

In The Bronx, New York, DNAInfo reports:

• A second suspect has been arrested in connection to the illegal marijuana grow house that exploded and killed an FDNY chief, sources told DNAinfo New York.
  
  Garivaldi Castillo, 32, of Washington Heights, is said to be a “controlling agent” of the second floor hydroponic pot farm inside 304 W. 234th St. that blew up [], killing Battalion Chief Michael Fahy, who was a father of three and a rising star in the fire department.
  
  Castillo was spotted going in and out of the building by undercover police who were probing allegations of a marijuana growing factory there days before it exploded, sources said.
  
  He was being held on marijuana possession charges tied to the pot farm, sources said.
  
  Julio Salcedo, 34, was arrested hours after the blast on an unrelated warrant for failing to show up in traffic court on a November 2014 arrest for driving without a license.
  
  Salcedo was seen fleeing the grow house when firefighters, police officers and Con Edison initially responded to a report of a heavy gas odor about an hour before the explosion.
  
  Salcedo is described as a low-level player in the operation, who apparently was paying the monthly rent in cash.
  
  But Castillo is believed to be a pivotal figure who literally had the keys to the various locks to the plastic-lined second-floor pot house, where police also discovered several 55 gallon fertilizer containers.
  
  Authorities believe the gas leak stemmed from an illegal hookup inside the building to avoid running up large Con Edison bills that would attract attention from the owner or the utility.

Source: Second Suspect Arrested in Blast That Killed FDNY Chief, Sources Say.

See, generally, Marijuana Labs Spawn Lethal Explosions Across the Country (An explosion that destroyed a New York City home and killed a firefighter has drawn attention to marijuana-making methods that are legal in many states — but can also be lethal).

From an earlier story:

• [F]irefighters were checking a report of a gas leak — believed to be caused by a faulty illegal gas hookup for the pot house — at about 6:22 a.m. when they discovered the second-floor apartment was tightly locked, virtually sealed with plastic and there was a blue, 55-gallon drum filled with fertilizer on the landing and several more in the basement, sources said.
  
  They determined it was likely a hydroponic marijuana growing lab with propane tanks, sources said.
  
  Emergency responders and Con Ed workers shut off the building's main gas feeder line, evacuating the building and others nearby after finding the pot house and the gas odor.
  
  Emergency responders led by Fahy were outside when the building exploded, according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
  
  Investigators believe a large amount of the volatile gas inside the building had suddenly ignited.
  
  Several ESU officers, one a highly skilled emergency technician, tried to save Fahy. The 17-year veteran, whose father was also an FDNY battalion chief, was pronounced dead at New York-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital, officials said.
  
  Nine firefighters, six police officers, three Con Edison workers and two civilians were also injured, Nigro said. They were not seriously injured.
  
  Investigators believe those behind the marijuana grow house illegally tapped into the gas line to avoid running up unusually large gas bills that would arouse suspicion. "It would have tipped off someone that there was something going on there," a source explained.
  
  The building's owner has another Tibbetts Avenue house, but apparently only rented out the building that blew up, according to sources.
  
  Officials were told no one lived in or stayed in the apartment, even though it was rented, sources said, adding that because the rent was paid on time, the owner had no incentive to check on his tenant.

Busting Indoor Pot Farms Becoming As Routine For Some Cops As Waking Up In The Morning & Brushing Their Teeth?

In Collier County, Florida, the Naples Daily News reports:

• For investigators from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, busting a marijuana grow house is becoming as much a part of their daily routine as waking up in the morning and brushing their teeth. For the third time in four days, investigators busted a grow house on Friday in Golden Gate Estates, confiscating more than $200,000 worth of pot along with several thousand dollars worth of growing equipment, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

• "This is like Groundhog Day. Get up, go to work, go to a grow house," said Lt. Nelson Shadrick of the Sheriff’s Office’s Vice and Narcotics Bureau, referring to the Bill Murray movie where the main character repeats the same day over and over again.

***

• The bust comes three days after investigators uncovered 81 marijuana plants valued at nearly $250,000 at [one] grow house, and two days after they found 136 plants valued at about $408,000 inside [another], both in the Estates. [...] Friday’s bust was the seventh suspected grow house to be discovered in Collier County in 2008.

For more, see Busting grow houses becoming daily routine for authorities.

For a related story, see Indoor pot plant operations are a growing problem in Southwest Florida ("Growhouses tend to bring many dangers to the neighborhood, authorities said, including poisonous fumes, power outages, environmental damage, increased risk of fires, increased crime and violence.").

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Go here for links to other recent news stories on indoor pot farms. pot grow ops alpha

Miami Feds Bust Mortgage Fraud/Marijuana Grow House Operation; 10 Of 18 Homes Financed With Fraudulently Obtained Loans Used As Indoor Pot Farms

In Miami, Florida, the U. S. Attorney's Office (Fla. Southern District) announced last week the indictment of nine Miami residents(1) allegedly involved in a mortgage fraud scheme used to finance the purchase of a number of homes used in a marijuana grow house operation. An excerpt from the press release:

• [A]s set forth in the Indictment, from on or about March 2, 2004, and continuing through about May 1, 2008, [eight of the defendants] were the buyers and sellers of real estate in St. Lucie County, Miami-Dade County, Lee County, Columbia County, and Marion County, Florida. At least ten of the houses were purchased through fraudulent mortgage applications, and after purchase, were used and maintained as marijuana grow houses. The defendants made false representations of material facts in mortgage applications, thereby causing mortgage companies to issue mortgages for the purchase of 18 houses.

***

• The Indictment further alleges, on a number of the fraudulent transactions, the loan officer was defendant Magalys Fajardo, a/k/a Magalys Rodriguez, who was employed by mortgage brokers, LendAmerica Home Loans, Bluetrust Capital, and Monster Mortgage, Inc.(2) [...] The aggregate dollar amount of all loans procured fraudulently by the defendants from the mortgage lenders exceeded six million dollars.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Miami Residents Indicted In Marijuana Grow House, Mortgage, And Money Laundering Scheme.

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(1) The indicted defendants are: Manuel Pupo, a/k/a Tata, Elieser Pupo, Serguey Pupo, Elmer Pupo, a/k/a Elmes, Maritza Perez, Noel Albanes-Gomez, Omar Cardenas, Zenaida Rodriguez and Magalys Fajardo, a/k/a Magalys Rodriguez.

(2) Reportedly, as part of the mortgage lending process, the defendants, via Magalys Fajardo, a/k/a Magalys Rodriguez, allegedly submitted fraudulent Uniform Residential Loan Applications, Requests for Verification of Employment, Requests for Verification of Deposit, IRS Forms W-2, payroll stubs, bank statements, as required by the mortgage lenders, through the mortgage broker to the lender for review and credit worthiness approval. pot grow ops beta

"Operation Family Tree" Busts Network Of 18 Marijuana Grow Houses In Central Florida; All Said To Be Rental Homes

In Pinellas County, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:

• After a months-long investigation prompted by an anonymous tip, authorities [last week] swooped down on 18 marijuana grow houses they say were coordinated by one man. Eighteen people were arrested and about $31,000 was seized, said Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Marianne Pasha. Detectives also dismantled the operations, confiscating more than 850 plants along with humidifiers, air conditioners, lamps and filtration systems used to grow them. [...] The operation was given the name Operation Family Tree because many of the suspects are related by blood or marriage or were friends.

***

• Rental homes were used for the grow operations, he said. Some were found today to contain as few as 23 plants; some had up to 100. Investigators say the coordinated effort annually could have produced a harvest worth more than $4 million.

For more, see;

• Pinellas Drug Sting Nets 18 Grow Houses, 18 Arrests,
• Pinellas County Sheriff's Office news release.

For a recent story on marijuana grow house busts in neighboring Hillsborough County, Florida, see Sheriff's Grow House Crackdown Bears Fruit. Go here for Hillsborough pot farm map for Marijuana grow houses busted by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department.

Go here for Suburbs the New Hot Spot For Pot Growers, a story originally published in the Daytona Beach News Journal of a Central Florida pot farm operator who set up his operation using dozens of suburban homes rented from landlords before ultimately landing in the slammer.

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Real Estate Agent Finds Two Starved Dogs In Foreclosed Marijuana Grow House

In Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond News reports:

• The SPCA is looking for the owner or owners of two German shepherds abandoned in a former marijuana grow operation, with the prospect of laying animal cruelty charges. A real estate agent found the dogs -- one dead, the other starving -- on Monday when she went to change the locks on a house that had been handed back to the bank in a foreclosure.

***

• The house had been the subject of a search in January by Richmond RCMP, who found a marijuana grow operation. Two males were arrested, but it appears no charges have yet been approved by the Crown. They therefore cannot be identified. The two men who were arrested in connection with the grow operation did not own the house, said Richmond RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Pound.

***

• Pound said police officers who conducted the search were aware that there were dogs in the house, but did not remove them from the house or follow up to make sure they were OK because the two men who were arrested were released. It appears the [...] house was simply abandoned, along with the dogs.

For more, see Two dogs left to starve in grow-op. pot grow ops beta

Indoor Pot Farms A Threat To Firefighters, Public Safety

In Lee County, Florida, The News Press reports:

• Grow house operators often rewire homes to steal electricity to run high intensity lights, pumps and air conditioning. "Anytime you're messing with the meter it could kill you," said Karen Ryan, spokeswoman for the Lee County Electric Cooperative. There are 14,000 volts in the wires at the pole, Ryan said. Transformers reduce that to 220 or 110 volts at the meter.

• Rewiring the house creates risks for firefighters, too. "Generally they don't catch fire," said Lehigh assistant fire chief Solon Duncan. "The main thing is we have no way to shut the power off," Duncan said. Growers bypass the electric meter to conceal their thefts. They might alter the box where the meter plugs in or run wiring underground from a nearby house, Duncan said. Growers also will block windows, which eliminates escape routes for firefighters who might have to fight a fire inside the building. "They do booby trap these places to hurt anyone trying to get in there," Duncan said. An example would be wiring a door to shock anyone trying to enter the house.

For more, see Grow houses can impact utility bills, public safety.

In Lee County, Florida, Lehigh Acres has apparently been a busy place for recent marijuana grow house busts. Go here for an interactive map of the location of 33 grow house busts in Lehigh Acres from Oct. 1, 2007 - March 31, 2008.

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Omaha Cops Bust Marijuana Grow House In Foreclosure; Score 400+ Plants In Raid

In Omaha, Nebraska, KETV Channel 7 reports:

• Omaha police arrested two men in what they called a major marijuana-growing operation at a home near 120th and Douglas streets. Police said they seized more than 400 plants during a raid at the home. [...] “They had reports of people going in and out of the house at night, which they weren’t supposed to be,” said Omaha Police Department spokesman Michael Pecha. He said officers needed to use the powers of a real estate inspection to unlock the case. “We went into the house to change the locks because it was undergoing foreclosure procedures,” he said. Holed up behind the windows, officers found marijuana plants covering the entire home, from fresh saplings to hydroponic plants that were fully grown.

Reportedly, narcotics officers came out with three truckloads of grow lights, fans, sophisticated water filtration systems and other items.

For more, see Police Raid Marijuana Grow House (Officers Seize 421 Plants, Make 2 Arrests). Go here for video coverage of the story.

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Foreclosure Purchaser Unwittingly Buys Booby-Trapped Ex-Marijuana Grow House; Bomb Squad Called In To Diffuse Explosives

In St. Lucie County, Florida, WFLX-TV Channel 29 reports:

• An electrician makes an explosive find in the attic of a local home. The previous owner had left a booby trap. The people who bought the home got it in foreclosure. It was a fixer-upper, and they were having some work done on it. But they had no idea about the danger that remained: A bomb in the attic that could have gone off at any moment.

***

• An air conditioning contractor was working on the air ducts in the attic when he found the device and immediately dialed 911. "It's a booby trap," said St. Lucie County Lieutenant Larry Hostetler. Turns out, the home was a marijuana grow house shut down by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's office in 2006. The device had a trip wire attached to it and could have set the whole house on fire. Booby traps are used "to conceal evidence or injure law enforcement officers who are taking down the grow house," said Hostetler.

For more, see Bomb squad diffuses potentially explosive situation.

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Unwitting Landlords Left To Deal With Wreckage As Raid On Extensive Indoor Grow House Operation Bags Two Dozen Vietnamese Nationals, 14,000 Pot Plants

In Spring, Texas, the Houston Chronicle reports:

• Large holes cut into the ceiling of almost every room of the 3,200-square-foot house on Mandarin Glen Circle in Spring were the first clue. Blowers were installed to push suspiciously pungent air into the attic.
  
  Then there was the potting soil covering floors, the makeshift electrical panels powering hundreds of 600-watt lights, the bathrooms converted into watering stations.
  
  They were all signs of a suburban dream home turned into a nightmare for its owners, a house in a quiet neighborhood transformed into a sophisticated grow house for a major Houston-area marijuana trafficking operation taken down by agents last week.
  
  Owners Court Riddle and his wife, Candace, could not believe the damage the marijuana cultivators wreaked on their two-story rental. "This is like a bad movie," said Candace, 32, as she and her two sons pulled down wire racks used to dry the marijuana.
  
  It was a heart-breaking scene being repeated for property owners at 40 rental homes targeted in raids in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend counties. Two dozen Vietnamese nationals were arrested, and nearly 14,000 marijuana plants confiscated in the raid.

***

• The ring stole electricity from local utilities by digging trenches and tapping directly into underground power lines running to the home. This not only saves large amounts of money, but made it harder to detect their 24/7 power use because they wired around the house meter.

***

• The raids last week targeted 60 locations, including two commercial sites where the organization was storing and packaging the marijuana. Of the 60 addresses, they found active cultivation in 40. Earlier seizures of 14 other grow houses the Vietnamese organization operated turned up 5,000 more plants, although details of those operations were not disclosed.

***

• The Riddles learned that the young Vietnamese woman with two children - who in January signed a two-year lease and were paying $1,850 a month - never lived in their home. Court Riddle, a 35-year-old minister, figures the cleanup to his property will cost $15,000.
  
  The brick home-turned-marijuana greenhouse suffered through 120-degree temperatures that softened the walls. Mold also was starting to grow.
  
  "Now we're left with trying to get it ready to lease it out or sell, and you know what the market is like," he said. "We may have to go into foreclosure."

For more, see Pot growers left huge mess for dozens of homeowners.

See also, KHOU-TV Channel 11: Homeowner: I was tricked by renters in marijuana grow operation:

• From the outside, they look like upscale homes in the suburbs, but inside criminals were hard at work. Now the people who own the rental houses in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties are learning the real details about who signed the lease.

SW Florida Cops Score $200K+ In Contraband In Foreclosed Marijuana Grow House

In Collier County, Florida, the Naples Daily News reports:

• Investigators with the Collier County Sheriff's Office uncovered 68 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $204,000 from a suspected grow house located at 2420 10th Ave. N.E. in Golden Gate Estates around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Nobody was inside the house when deputies executed the search warrant, according to sheriff’s reports.

• The house is involved in a bank foreclosure, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. Bank agents notified the Sheriff’s Office after they found suspected marijuana plants growing inside the house during an inspection they were conducting on the property, reports said. Investigators also turned up assorted equipment used for growing marijuana valued at $10,000, reports said.

For more, see Marijuana in Estates growhouse bust worth more than $200,000.

Go here to view interactive map of growhouse busts in SW Florida and around the state.

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Cops: Underwater Property Owners Seeking To Rent Out Their Homes To Dodge Foreclosure Good Targets For Marijuana Growers Setting Up Indoor Pot Farms

In Las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:

• Metro Police narcotics officers have seized about 7,000 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of more than $20 million in recent raids of marijuana grow houses.
  
  According to police, detectives carefully track the location of each grow house and look for potential trends in making the bust.
  
  Police said the largest grow houses so far are in the southwest and northwest parts of the valley. Investigators believe homeowners are in over their heads and are the first to face foreclosure. It is also where large grow houses are now sprouting up.
  
  "Empty homes, people who are distressed and are trying to rent their homes rather than going under in their mortgage - it's a combination of a lot of different things," Lt. Laz Chavez of Metro narcotics said. "But, we attack the problem with enforcement and with awareness."
  
  Chavez said criminals saw an opportunity by turning homes into grow operations. "These are sophisticated criminals who are running 100, 200, 500 plant grows inside these homes," he said. "There are homes that are burning up, and they are endangering the lives of everyone around them."
  
  Metro designed an indoor marijuana map that shows locations of grow operations. Police said marijuana grow houses are extremely dangerous, because criminals bypass the meter when they rig their own wiring to prevent tipping off the power company.
  
  "They really have no consideration or concern for the community or where they are doing these grows - in residential neighborhoods, nice upscale neighborhoods, gated communities, country clubs - it really doesn't matter," Chavez added.
  
  Police said growers are ready to protect their lucrative investments. Police officers have recovered more than 100 guns, including assault rifles.
  
  Faced with budget cuts and doing more with less, investigators are doing their best to locate grows, but they rely on the public to call when something isn't right. Officers said activity, such as people coming and going during the early morning hours, could be an indication of a grow house.

Source: Metro Works to Confiscate Grow Houses.

SW Florida Cops Cop $3.6M In Contraband In Statewide "Operation D-Day" Grow House Busts

In Southwest Florida, WBBH-TV Channel 2 reports:

• Forty seven counties, including Lee and Collier counties, participated in "Operation D-Day," a statewide initiative aimed at shutting down marijuana grow houses. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office did a sweep in Lehigh Acres and arrested ten people. Deputies checked 55 houses - 12 of those were grow houses. They seized 740 plants worth an estimated $3 million. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office shut down eight grow houses, all in Golden Gate Estates. They seized 200 plants worth an estimated $600,000 and arrested nine people.

For more, see $3.6 million in pot seized in Lee, Collier.

In a related story from the Florida Attorney General's office, see Attorney General Praises Passage of the Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act.

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After Temporary Job Move To Avoid Foreclosure, Florida Couple Return To Find Home Converted Into Pot Farm

In Lehigh Acres, Florida, WBBH-TV Channel 2 reports:

• A Florida couple who left their home in the care of a house sitter returned this week to find the building converted into a marijuana grow house. Kimberly and John lived in the home in Lehigh Acres, but didn't want to give their last name because they are afraid of retribution. The couple said they couldn't believe their eyes when they walked in the door of their home. The walls were ripped out and all of their belongings were gone.

***

• The couple had left the southwest Florida [home] nine months ago because a job in California offered them the chance to avoid foreclosure on the house. [...] They came home after neighbors told them about wild, loud parties that took place at the house. [...] John added, "This was the only home we had. This was our home. We've been gone for almost nine months. We come back and this is what we come back to. It's just heartbreaking."

For more, see Couple returns to find home converted into grow house.

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Marijuana "Grow Houses" On The Network Evening News

The increased use of single family dwellings being used as marijuana "grow houses" was featured on both the NBC and ABC evening news last Thursday. When considered in the context of the current real estate market that's flooded with desperate home sellers (many of whom having little, no, or negative equity in their properties) looking to unload the homes (many of whom who may be "ripe" for an offer to rent the place for an amount sufficient to cover the payments on an "exploding" subprime mortgage as a way of avoiding foreclosure), don't be surprised if there's an indoor pot farm "coming soon to a neighborhood near you."

To watch the NBC report, from Diamond Bar, California, see Pot growers plant themselves in the 'burbs (NBC Nightly News by Peter Alexander - 6-14-07).

To watch the ABC report, see The Marijuana Fields Next Door (Cops say organized crime is sending families into the suburbs to grow marijuana) (ABC News by Jim Avila - 6-14-07).

To read the ABC online report, see Marijuana McMansions. (ABC News - 6-14-07).

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To read about the rise and fall of Mitchell Shane Estep, a former Central Florida indoor pot farming entrepreneur, who went around renting dozens of single family homes in upper middle class neighborhoods from landlords (he preferred gated commmunities) and setting up an indoor marijuana farm, or grow house, in each home, becoming a marijuana mogul in the process by the age of twenty five, see Suburbs the new hot spot for pot growers, reported by The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Landlord-tenant pot farming litigation involving a raid by Federal agents of a rental home even recently made it onto the TV show, The People's Court (no longer available online).

• Go here for People's Court pot farm case - Part 1; and
  Go here for People's Court pot farm case - Part 2.

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Law Enforcement Battles Against Indoor Pot Farms Span The Country

The Associated Press reports:

• Officers fighting networks of indoor marijuana factories took out what they called a major operation Wednesday in a secluded back room of a house [in Miami, Florida] where a nice older lady sold ice cream to kids. The raid targeted a sophisticated pot-growing operation that could net more than $300,000 a year, authorities said. [...] Law enforcement officials from Seattle to Miami are grappling with the spread of sophisticated indoor marijuana farms, often run by ethnic gangs, that produce hundreds of pounds each year.

***

• [The busts] are part of a coordinated local and federal law enforcement crackdown on indoor marijuana grow houses. Last week in Seattle, authorities arrested 15 people and raided two garden shops that were part of a Vietnamese drug trafficking group accused of operating at least 19 marijuana grow houses around Puget Sound. One San Francisco-based ethnic Chinese drug ring operated at least 50 marijuana grow houses in the Bay area that could produce pot valued on the street at $94 million, authorities claim. Major indoor marijuana rings have also been discovered recently in Atlanta, Houston and New England.

For more, see Quiet houses across the country hide pot-growing operations.

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Vacant Homes, Indoor Pot Farms Keep Southwest Florida Cops Busy

In Lee County, Florida, The News Press reports:

• Vacant houses and houses filled with growing marijuana plants keep deputies busy, the captain of the Lee County Sheriff's Office district in Lehigh Acres told the chamber of commerce Tuesday. The crime rate would be a lot lower without the vacant houses, Capt. Ed Tamayo told about 80 people at the chamber's monthly luncheon while talking about residential burglaries.

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• Lee County's code enforcement division has identified 400 cases of abandoned homes under construction. Construction sites are considered abandoned if they haven't had an inspection in six months. Deputies also have been busy with [marijuana] grow houses in Lehigh. The district closed nine houses in June. "Lately, it's become an almost daily event," Tamayo said.

• The News Star began tracking grow house raids in Lehigh Acres on Oct. 1, 2007. Law enforcement officers have shut down at least 52 operations through July, made more than 80 arrests and confiscated nearly 3,200 plants.

For more, see Vacant homes fill deputies' schedules (Captain tells chamber about area crime rates).

Go here for a KNBC-TV story on a busted Corona, California marijuana grow house operation, including a tour of the inside of the home (video only). pot grow ops beta

Minneapolis-Area Cops Busy Busting Grow House Ops

In Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

• Hennepin County narcotics officers are busting more home-grown marijuana operations -- sometimes in upscale suburbs. One reason for increased home production is the decreased flow of high-grade pot from Canada since border controls tightened up after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said Sheriff Rich Stanek. Another factor is more indoor cultivation of higher-grade marijuana that's is up to six times more potent than that sold years ago, he said. Higher potency raises dealer profits and also may increase addictiveness, a drug expert said.

For more, see Marijuana growers tend potent kind of pot.

See also, Big Money, Violence Behind Minneapolis Marijuana (Hennepin County Sheriff's statistics on marijuana busts, trends) ("Local marijuana grow operations and related violent crimes are on the rise in the Minneapolis metro, according to Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek." - My Fox TV Channel 9; 12-11-07).

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For the kinds of health and safety concerns arising from using homes to cultivate marijuana, not to mention the kind of damage such operations can inflict on a home, see Beware Of Homes Used As Indoor Pot Farms & Meth Labs.

Go here and go here for other posts on Marijuana Grow Houses. pot grow ops alpha