FruityBud
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A bookcase hid the entrance to a secret room that police said held more than 100 marijuana plants and led to the arrest of the woman who allegedly grew them.
"This was a very sophisticated operation," Grafton County Sheriff Doug Dutile said.
Patricia W. Smith, 55, of 12 Deerfield Drive, Woodsville, which is in the Mountain Lakes development, was arrested late Friday and charged with manufacturing marijuana, a felony offense. She is free on $10,000 personal recognizance bail.
Her arrest capped a six-month investigation that Dutile described as "intense and involved" by his officers and state police. It began as a tip to his office and ended after a seven-hour search of the home Friday afternoon.
Smith is unemployed, Dutile said, but owns the home outright and lives there alone.
The growing operation, he said, "has been going on for two years, as far as we've determined."
The marijuana was being grown hydroponically in the basement, and the door into the 20-by-20-foot room was hidden by a bookcase and wrapped with aluminum foil.
"You couldn't see the room from the outside at all," he said.
Another room was used for drying the buds, he said.
The operation had a ventilation system, grow lights that operated on timers and a watering system, he said.
"This is all stuff that she purchased" to grow the plants, he said. "It was all top-notch."
During Friday's search of the home, investigators took apart the exhaust fans. They also discovered a cloning system to reproduce the plants.
By the end of the search, investigators had seized 121 plants; $14,000 in cash; five pounds of packaged marijuana; digital scales; and other equipment, authorities said.
Dutile said there have been larger pot busts in the county, but this was one of the more sophisticated operations he's seen.
Police also seized a computer during the search, and he said forensic investigators will carefully examine the hard drive to determine whether Smith had any associates and who may have been buying the finished product.
Dutile did not rule out further charges against Smith, or more arrests in connection with the case.
Smith is scheduled to appear in Haverhill District Court Jan. 11.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/y8cdpfz
"This was a very sophisticated operation," Grafton County Sheriff Doug Dutile said.
Patricia W. Smith, 55, of 12 Deerfield Drive, Woodsville, which is in the Mountain Lakes development, was arrested late Friday and charged with manufacturing marijuana, a felony offense. She is free on $10,000 personal recognizance bail.
Her arrest capped a six-month investigation that Dutile described as "intense and involved" by his officers and state police. It began as a tip to his office and ended after a seven-hour search of the home Friday afternoon.
Smith is unemployed, Dutile said, but owns the home outright and lives there alone.
The growing operation, he said, "has been going on for two years, as far as we've determined."
The marijuana was being grown hydroponically in the basement, and the door into the 20-by-20-foot room was hidden by a bookcase and wrapped with aluminum foil.
"You couldn't see the room from the outside at all," he said.
Another room was used for drying the buds, he said.
The operation had a ventilation system, grow lights that operated on timers and a watering system, he said.
"This is all stuff that she purchased" to grow the plants, he said. "It was all top-notch."
During Friday's search of the home, investigators took apart the exhaust fans. They also discovered a cloning system to reproduce the plants.
By the end of the search, investigators had seized 121 plants; $14,000 in cash; five pounds of packaged marijuana; digital scales; and other equipment, authorities said.
Dutile said there have been larger pot busts in the county, but this was one of the more sophisticated operations he's seen.
Police also seized a computer during the search, and he said forensic investigators will carefully examine the hard drive to determine whether Smith had any associates and who may have been buying the finished product.
Dutile did not rule out further charges against Smith, or more arrests in connection with the case.
Smith is scheduled to appear in Haverhill District Court Jan. 11.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/y8cdpfz
