FruityBud
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A search Friday for possible missing copper at a former granite manufacturing facility just north of Highway 120 led police to the largest indoor marijuana growing operation in the city's history.
Manteca police found more than 2,000 marijuana plants in various stages of growth inside two 20,000-square-foot buildings in the 500 block of Industrial Park Drive, just east of South Main Street.
Had the seized plants been harvested, investigators estimated the marijuana would be worth millions of dollars.
Officers did not find anybody inside the buildings, said police spokesman Rex Osborn. Investigators had not determined if the buildings had been legally rented with illicit intentions or the growers had broken into the facility and cultivated the gardens without being noticed.
The granite facility has been closed for business for more than a year.
Sgt. Danny Erb first caught a whiff of the marijuana about 7:30 a.m. while following up on a copper theft investigation in the area. He spotted a man riding a bike and carrying two copper plumbing pipes.
The man told Erb he found the pipes, and the sergeant didn't find evidence the man had stolen the pipes from a nearby building. The man was questioned and released.
Osborn said Erb was looking for signs of missing copper when he spotted a cut in a fence that leads to the granite facility. Erb continued to investigate and felt one of the building's door was warm to the touch.
Erb also smelled the pungent odor of growing marijuana coming from inside the buildings, Osborn said. A drug-detecting dog was brought to the facility and quickly indicated to officers that there were drugs inside.
By 10:30 a.m., police had obtained a search warrant for the buildings. Osborn said narcotics investigators found high-tech lighting and ventilation equipment inside worth about $250,000.
"This is one of the most sophisticated indoor marijuana grows we've ever seen," Osborn said. "This is the largest by far that we've seen in Manteca."
He said the growers had bypassed an electricity meter and stolen enough electricity to power a home for two years. It was unclear how long the operation had been there.
The investigators also found a room, with an industrial-sized shrink-wrap machine, possibly used as a marijuana packaging area.
On Monday in Stanislaus County, investigators discovered the largest indoor marijuana growing operation in county history inside a barn on South Carpenter Road in Crows Landing. Six men were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the operation, which was producing about $2 million worth of marijuana every three months.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/6yl3ybd
Manteca police found more than 2,000 marijuana plants in various stages of growth inside two 20,000-square-foot buildings in the 500 block of Industrial Park Drive, just east of South Main Street.
Had the seized plants been harvested, investigators estimated the marijuana would be worth millions of dollars.
Officers did not find anybody inside the buildings, said police spokesman Rex Osborn. Investigators had not determined if the buildings had been legally rented with illicit intentions or the growers had broken into the facility and cultivated the gardens without being noticed.
The granite facility has been closed for business for more than a year.
Sgt. Danny Erb first caught a whiff of the marijuana about 7:30 a.m. while following up on a copper theft investigation in the area. He spotted a man riding a bike and carrying two copper plumbing pipes.
The man told Erb he found the pipes, and the sergeant didn't find evidence the man had stolen the pipes from a nearby building. The man was questioned and released.
Osborn said Erb was looking for signs of missing copper when he spotted a cut in a fence that leads to the granite facility. Erb continued to investigate and felt one of the building's door was warm to the touch.
Erb also smelled the pungent odor of growing marijuana coming from inside the buildings, Osborn said. A drug-detecting dog was brought to the facility and quickly indicated to officers that there were drugs inside.
By 10:30 a.m., police had obtained a search warrant for the buildings. Osborn said narcotics investigators found high-tech lighting and ventilation equipment inside worth about $250,000.
"This is one of the most sophisticated indoor marijuana grows we've ever seen," Osborn said. "This is the largest by far that we've seen in Manteca."
He said the growers had bypassed an electricity meter and stolen enough electricity to power a home for two years. It was unclear how long the operation had been there.
The investigators also found a room, with an industrial-sized shrink-wrap machine, possibly used as a marijuana packaging area.
On Monday in Stanislaus County, investigators discovered the largest indoor marijuana growing operation in county history inside a barn on South Carpenter Road in Crows Landing. Six men were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the operation, which was producing about $2 million worth of marijuana every three months.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/6yl3ybd
