FruityBud
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Local and federal agents announced the results of a statewide drug raid on grow houses on Friday; their 30 hour operation uncovered 120 homes secretly growing massive amounts of marijuana inside.
They called it Operation Eagle Claw, and it seized close to 7,000 plants with an estimated street value of more than $30 million. The operation involved all of Florida's 67 counties.
"We are all going to be escalating our efforts to make sure that these marijuana grow houses don't escalate any further," said Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami Dade County State Attorney.
The sweep netted 142 arrests and found 15 children living under some of the same roofs with all those drugs. Those children are now in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. It's an alarming discovery considering the dangers associated with grow houses. The hydroponics labs used to grow the plants use massive amounts of energy and electricity. They also use chemicals. Those three elements can be highly explosive and agents say the chemicals often pollute the ground water.
"It has so many ramifications that if somebody were to think about it, it's one of the biggest problems that is affecting south Florida and the country," said Captain Joe Mendez, of South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
It was a frightening discovery for many of the neighbors who live near the raided homes. Most had no idea they were sleeping so close to this hidden danger.
One woman living near a grow house in Southwest Miami-Dade said she suspected it. She doesn't want to be identified. But she recalled the signs. "People were hardly living there," she said. "There was a boy that would come in the evening, and then he would leave and the house would be empty and I thought that was very strange to buy a house that was fairly expensive for him to not be living there."
Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle stated, "Organized crime has crept into our residential neighborhoods through the virus-like increase in hydroponic marijuana grow houses. The violence and gun activity, which are always a part of the atmosphere associated with these perceived high-profit enterprises, can easily spill out onto our streets. We have put together a massive law enforcement machine in our continuing efforts to eradicate every single one of these dangerous and illegal operations. We intend to keep our neighborhoods safe."
hxxp://shuurl.com/O5244
They called it Operation Eagle Claw, and it seized close to 7,000 plants with an estimated street value of more than $30 million. The operation involved all of Florida's 67 counties.
"We are all going to be escalating our efforts to make sure that these marijuana grow houses don't escalate any further," said Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami Dade County State Attorney.
The sweep netted 142 arrests and found 15 children living under some of the same roofs with all those drugs. Those children are now in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. It's an alarming discovery considering the dangers associated with grow houses. The hydroponics labs used to grow the plants use massive amounts of energy and electricity. They also use chemicals. Those three elements can be highly explosive and agents say the chemicals often pollute the ground water.
"It has so many ramifications that if somebody were to think about it, it's one of the biggest problems that is affecting south Florida and the country," said Captain Joe Mendez, of South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
It was a frightening discovery for many of the neighbors who live near the raided homes. Most had no idea they were sleeping so close to this hidden danger.
One woman living near a grow house in Southwest Miami-Dade said she suspected it. She doesn't want to be identified. But she recalled the signs. "People were hardly living there," she said. "There was a boy that would come in the evening, and then he would leave and the house would be empty and I thought that was very strange to buy a house that was fairly expensive for him to not be living there."
Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle stated, "Organized crime has crept into our residential neighborhoods through the virus-like increase in hydroponic marijuana grow houses. The violence and gun activity, which are always a part of the atmosphere associated with these perceived high-profit enterprises, can easily spill out onto our streets. We have put together a massive law enforcement machine in our continuing efforts to eradicate every single one of these dangerous and illegal operations. We intend to keep our neighborhoods safe."
hxxp://shuurl.com/O5244
