FruityBud
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A house filled with nearly 200 marijuana plants was raided Tuesday afternoon by St. Tammany Parish authorities, who described the pot nursery as the front end of a distribution chain that extended throughout the southeast.
Deputies described the operation at 23483 Harris Court near Abita Springs as "one of the largest indoor operations they've ever seen," Sheriff Jack Strain said at a news conference Wednesday as he stood before piles of plants seized at the house. "It resembled the hydroponics up at Disney World."
The operation probably was capable of producing marijuana worth more than $2.5 million a year on the wholesale market, largely because of its quality, Capt. David Hall said. It would be worth double that on the street, he said.
"This is high-quality marijuana," said Hall, who oversees the department's narcotics and street crimes divisions, as he showed off a handful of buds. "Not some of the trash you see out of Mexico."
Deputies arrested Roberto Castro, 19, of Miami, who was at the home when they arrived, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett. Castro was booked with cultivation and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia, he said.
Another man believed to be involved in the operation, Oscar Alfonso, 38, of 7612 W. Judge Perez Drive, Apt. D, in Arabi, was arrested in Jefferson Parish later in the evening, Bonnett said. He was booked with criminal conspiracy for the cultivation of marijuana.
Both men are of Cuban origin and deputies are consulting with federal authorities to determine their status in the United States, Strain said.
Law enforcement officials are looking for about five others believed to be connected with the operation, including the owner of the $200,000 home, Hall said. The owner, whose name was not released Wednesday, is believed to be in Cuba, he said.
Not all those being sought are of Cuban origin and it is unclear whether there is an international connection to the operation, officials said. Deputies have connected the house to distribution in Alabama and Florida but the full extent of the operation is unclear, Hall said.
"I'm hoping there's another house and we'll be doing this again real soon," he said.
Deputies were tipped off about the house by an informant from another jurisdiction and had been watching the house for about six months, Hall said.
While deputies believe no one stayed in the house for more than a couple days at a time, it was set up so that from the street it would appear occupied, Lt. Brad Hassert said. In the rear of the building, however, was a complex drug operation involving tens of thousands of dollars of automated equipment, he said.
Special temperature controls and lighting were installed throughout the rear of the house, which was broken down into three sections to allow plants at different stages of cultivation to be treated differently, officials said.
Deputies said that based on the maturity of the plants in the home, Tuesday's raid came shortly before a new crop was set to be harvested.
"We stopped this operation and got it seized and secured before it got on the streets," Hall said.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1203575763172020.xml&coll=1
Deputies described the operation at 23483 Harris Court near Abita Springs as "one of the largest indoor operations they've ever seen," Sheriff Jack Strain said at a news conference Wednesday as he stood before piles of plants seized at the house. "It resembled the hydroponics up at Disney World."
The operation probably was capable of producing marijuana worth more than $2.5 million a year on the wholesale market, largely because of its quality, Capt. David Hall said. It would be worth double that on the street, he said.
"This is high-quality marijuana," said Hall, who oversees the department's narcotics and street crimes divisions, as he showed off a handful of buds. "Not some of the trash you see out of Mexico."
Deputies arrested Roberto Castro, 19, of Miami, who was at the home when they arrived, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett. Castro was booked with cultivation and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia, he said.
Another man believed to be involved in the operation, Oscar Alfonso, 38, of 7612 W. Judge Perez Drive, Apt. D, in Arabi, was arrested in Jefferson Parish later in the evening, Bonnett said. He was booked with criminal conspiracy for the cultivation of marijuana.
Both men are of Cuban origin and deputies are consulting with federal authorities to determine their status in the United States, Strain said.
Law enforcement officials are looking for about five others believed to be connected with the operation, including the owner of the $200,000 home, Hall said. The owner, whose name was not released Wednesday, is believed to be in Cuba, he said.
Not all those being sought are of Cuban origin and it is unclear whether there is an international connection to the operation, officials said. Deputies have connected the house to distribution in Alabama and Florida but the full extent of the operation is unclear, Hall said.
"I'm hoping there's another house and we'll be doing this again real soon," he said.
Deputies were tipped off about the house by an informant from another jurisdiction and had been watching the house for about six months, Hall said.
While deputies believe no one stayed in the house for more than a couple days at a time, it was set up so that from the street it would appear occupied, Lt. Brad Hassert said. In the rear of the building, however, was a complex drug operation involving tens of thousands of dollars of automated equipment, he said.
Special temperature controls and lighting were installed throughout the rear of the house, which was broken down into three sections to allow plants at different stages of cultivation to be treated differently, officials said.
Deputies said that based on the maturity of the plants in the home, Tuesday's raid came shortly before a new crop was set to be harvested.
"We stopped this operation and got it seized and secured before it got on the streets," Hall said.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1203575763172020.xml&coll=1
