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<< Previous   of   Next >> Photo provided by the Snohomish Regional Drug Task  (click to enlarge) Marijuana plants are crammed into a house in Snohomish County. The growers use an elaborate venting system to alleviate the musty odor of pot plants. Makeshift wiring creates a fire hazard at many of these indoor grows.   ADVERTISEMENT   More about marijuana Pot-farm dangers Police say there are numerous hazards associated with indoor and outdoor marijuana grows. Indoor grows: - Potential fire hazards from makeshift electrical wiring and power diversion - Mold - Hazardous pesticides and fertilizers dumped down household drains - Potential for violence from rival marijuana growers, including armed home-invasion robberies. - Gates and homes are sometimes booby-trapped to protect the grows Outdoor grows: - Large amounts of garbage left behind - Hazardous pesticides and fertilizers - Environmental destruction, including diverting creeks for irrigation and ripping up native plant life - Poaching animals to prevent wildlife from eating crops - Potential for violence; more growers are arming themselves Information provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Growing signs What are the signs of a marijuana grow? Indoor grows: - Covered or blackened windows Loud humming sounds from fans or ballasts - Strong musty order - Large amounts of potting soil, containers, fertilizers, hoses, halide light systems or ballasts. Security systems Outdoor grows: - Large purchases of fertilizer, garden hoses, PVC pipe or camouflage netting - Lots of “No Trespassing” or “Keep Out” signs - Unusual makeshift structures or gardening items in remote forested areas, such as buckets, tools or fertilizer bags. - For more information or to report any suspicious activity, visit www.srdtf.org. Tipsters are encouraged to leave their contact information for detectives, who may have additional questions. Information from the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force.   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, July 26, 2009 Snohomish County a marijuana hotbed Large growing operations spread in suburban houses By Diana Hefley Herald Writer EVERETT — From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the big gray house next to Jackson Elementary School. The lawn was growing a little tall and the white picket fence needed a fresh coat of paint, but the three-story house didn’t raise any eyebrows along Federal Avenue in Everett. Until the police showed up. Investigators recently found signs of a dismantled indoor marijuana growing operation hidden inside the $500,000 house. Police believe they interrupted the growers as they were removing equipment used to produce hundreds of plants. The evidence led Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force detectives to another indoor pot farm. About 340 marijuana plants were growing in the upscale home on 44th Avenue SE, just outside the city limits. Police say the houses raided in Everett are part of the continuing trend of sophisticated marijuana-growing operations sprouting up in the suburbs. Snohomish County now ranks second in the state for indoor marijuana grows, and depending on how one does the math, the value of the dope produced here could eclipse legitimate agriculture. “It’s definitely hit all parts of the state, primarily in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties,” said Lt. Rich Wiley with the Washington State Patrol narcotics program. “Primarily it’s ‘B.C. bud’ growers who want to eliminate border issues. They are making an awful lot of money doing it.” Washington has become one of the most prolific marijuana-producing states in the nation, second now only to California, Wiley said. Police in 2008 seized more than 580,000 marijuana plants from indoor and outdoor growing operations. That’s nearly twice what they found in 2007 and more than 50 times what was seized in 1999. “These aren’t your mom and pop growers anymore, and it sure isn’t for medical marijuana. These are organized criminals,” said Dave Rodriguez, director of the federally funded Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program in Seattle. The biggest numbers of pot plants come from outdoor farms, primarily on public land in the Columbia River basin. More than 200,000 plants were seized last year in Yakima County alone. Mexican drug cartels are primarily responsible for the large outdoor grows in Eastern Washington. These are the same organizations that traffic in methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, Wiley said. The majority of the state’s indoor pot farms are found in the Puget Sound area. The high-tech grows are being run by people connected to criminal organizations in Vancouver, B.C., many with ties to Southeast Asia, Rodriguez said. The growers quietly are buying houses in the suburbs, converting them into pot factories and raking in millions of dollars from America’s most-consumed illegal drug. These groups also are responsible for smuggling Ecstasy into Washington and are believed to be engaged in human trafficking and weapons smuggling, Wiley said. Big-money operations Pot is a cash cow for organized criminals and is fueling other illegal activities, said Douglas James, Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Marijuana continues to generate more money than any other drug in the U.S. The indoor grows with their highly sought-after marijuana are particularly lucrative. Some have been found with up to 1,500 plants. A marijuana plant grown indoors can yield up to a pound of high-quality pot. It sells for as much as $6,500 a pound, considerably more than marijuana harvested outdoors or dope smuggled in from Mexico, according to authorities. A high-producing house can yield millions of dollars in pot sales and these criminal organizations typically operate several houses at once, James said. Snohomish County in 2008 had the second largest number of confiscated indoor pot plants in the state, trailing only King County, according police. More than 5,600 plants were seized from indoor grows here last year. The Snohomish County plants had a potential street value of up $36.4 million for a single crop. High-tech grows can produce up to four crops a year, James said. That means the potential value of indoor marijuana grows found here could have been as high as $145 million a year. By comparison, legitimate agriculture in the county produces crops and livestock valued at $126.9 million a year. Nationwide, marijuana continues to generate more money than any other illegal drug in the U.S., Rodriguez said. The amount of money involved increases the potential for violence, authorities said. More of the outdoor growers are arming themselves. Police last year seized 78 guns from growers statewide. That’s nearly double the amount taken off growers in 2007. Members of law enforcement worry that unsuspecting hikers enjoying the outdoors could become victims of violence if they stumble across one of these armed growers. Violence erupted at a covert indoor grow operation in Everett in 2007. Two men planned to rob the dope house on Dexter Avenue. Instead they executed a couple paid to tend the plants. Environmental hazards The outdoor and indoor grows also are creating environmental hazards to forests and neighborhoods, police said. The indoor grows can destroy homes by a creating breeding ground for toxic mold or presenting fire hazards. Homeowners or renters who grow dope indoors often walk away from the house, leaving banks with expensive cleanup costs. Outdoor grows are polluting natural resources with pesticides from Mexico that are so harmful they are banned in the U.S., police said. Pot production in Washington is high mainly because of the state’s location, according to the experts. Washington is an established hub on the pipeline used by the Mexican drug cartels peddling heroin, cocaine and meth. The state’s vast remote public lands also attract covert outdoor grows that in some cases yield up to 10,000 plants in a single location. That is now coupled with the burgeoning indoor growing operations. Washington likely was selected because the command centers for those criminal organizations are headquartered in neighboring Canada, James said. Police suspect the organizations began setting up in Washington after the terrorist attacks in 2001 led to tighter borders. Beginning in 2005, police began to first notice a trend of elaborate grows using similar techniques found in the indoor farms in Canada, where pot is estimated to be a $6 billion a year business, Rodriguez said. “It became tougher to move the product over the border, so they started moving the operations over the border,” said Pat Slack, the commander for the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force. Last year police dismantled 218 indoor grows, and about 30 percent of those were associated with Asian organized crime, Rodriguez said. “There have always been indoor growers,” Wiley said. “The ones we’re talking about are very technical and organized crime is behind these.” Authorities have discovered that the criminal groups have set up bogus mortgage companies to purchase homes and operated garden centers as fronts to supply the growers with equipment. Federal authorities launched an extensive investigation into indoor grows in 2007, leading to the arrests and convictions of dozens of people connected to organized crime. The ongoing investigation, dubbed “Operation Green Reaper” uncovered a complex web of suppliers and financiers behind the indoor marijuana-growing business. “We’re not just going after the growers. We’re working from the top down to take out the whole criminal organization,” James said. ‘Hiding in plain sight’ The organizations buy houses in nice neighborhoods and convert them into large pot farms. The grows often go unnoticed by neighbors, who assume the houses are simply vacant, police said. “They are hiding in plain sight,” James said. The growers have developed covert ventilation systems, masking the pungent skunklike odor of growing pot. They steal electricity to avoid suspiciously large utility bills. In some cases, people are paid to live in the houses to tend the plants. They are rarely seen by neighbors. Drug sales aren’t conducted at the houses. “I would never have guessed,” said Jen Selders, who lives near the house on Federal Avenue that was used for marijuana cultivation. “It’s unnerving and makes you wonder what else could be under your nose. I suppose they try to blend in not to be caught.” Police went to the house after someone reported a possible break-in. Neighbors became suspicious only after they saw men throwing large bags into the back of a U-Haul truck. The neighbors believed the house was vacant. Officers spotted planter containers and dirt on the floor just inside the front door. They later searched the house and discovered fresh, green marijuana leaves, fans and other signs of an indoor grow. There were no plants left. Detectives later learned that the previous owner sold the house to a woman under suspicious circumstances. The woman was promised $50,000 if she put her name on the purchase agreement and deed. She lives in California and had never visited the house until she received notices that the mortgage wasn’t being paid. Detectives then discovered that the man who sold the Federal Avenue house owned another house. The house is in an affluent Everett neighborhood, where decorative signs are posted reminding residents to clean up after their dogs. Police raided the house and discovered 343 marijuana plants. Detectives arrested the homeowner and another man believed to be the “electrician” for the grows. They both have been charged with manufacturing marijuana and defrauding a public utility. The investigation is ongoing. “I think we’ve become better at discovering and investigating (marijuana grows),” said Everett police detective Rob Cracchiolo, assigned to the task force. “Neighbors are paying attention, too.” Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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