CASTAIC CONFISCATION DEPUTIES SAY $250,000 POT-GROWING OPERATION BUSTED.Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer CASTAIC - Alerted by neighbors about something strange going on in a Castaic house, sheriff's deputies on Wednesday found more than 500 marijuana plants, some as tall as 5 feet, growing in a garage. Narcotics narcotics n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required. detectives estimated the street value of the mature plants to be $250,000. ``The whole neighborhood watched for a while,'' said one homeowner, who asked not to be identified. ``In this area, everyone knows everyone else, and there were a lot of suspicious cars parked there. ``We started making calls to various agencies because we knew something was up. Nobody moves into a house with just a sleeping bag and big jugs of water.'' Deputies visited the rental home on Berkshire Place on Tuesday evening and smelled a strange odor, heard a constant buzzing sound and observed mold and fungus growing at exit points of the garage. A search warrant was obtained and served Wednesday morning. ``The condensation from the growing plants causes the mold, and our narcotics deputies saw the electrical meter spinning because of the ventilation system ventilation system Public health An air system designed to maintain negative pressure and exhaust air properly, to minimize the spread of TB and other respiratory pathogens in a health care facility ,'' said Sgt. Robert Harms of the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, station. Using force to enter the house, deputies found two men in their 20s asleep on the floor. The men were arrested but sheriff's officials would not release their names, citing a continuing investigation. Vent pipes snaked across the ceiling of the garage, connected to a complicated light and ventilation system. Harms described the setup as hydroponic, as each plant was rooted in a square of growing medium soaking in a soup of water and nutrients. One of the bedrooms was set up as a plant nursery, with tiny plant shoots in plastic containers under lights next to a humidifier humidifier, n a device for adding moisture to dry air inside the home to help counteract the reduction in saliva that often occurs as a result of hyposalivation, radiation therapy, or other treatments that cause xerostomia. . The house was devoid of furniture; some clothing was strewn strew tr.v. strewed, strewn or strewed, strew·ing, strews 1. To spread here and there; scatter: strewing flowers down the aisle. 2. on the floor and the only food visible in the kitchen was several boxes of cereal. ``This is pretty typical for a grow house,'' Harms said. ``There's no furniture, they don't keep up the lawn or put the trash out because they know we can go through the trash.'' Detectives also confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. computer hard drives found in the house that contained bookkeeping bookkeeping, maintenance of systematic and convenient records of money transactions in order to show the condition of a business enterprise. The essential purpose of bookkeeping is to reveal the amounts and sources of the losses and profits for any given period. and sales records. carol.rock(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5252 CAPTION(S): photo |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion