18 People Charged Running Marijuana Operation in Calif

[nulisafalis]

18 People Charged Running Marijuana Operation in Calif

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Federal prosecutors in California have charged 18 people with operating an extensive marijuanagrowing operation by converting upscale homes into hightech pot nurseries. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Casey McEnry said all are from the San Francisco Bay area. Nine were arrested early Thursday on drug and Cheap Jordans For Sale real estate fraud charges. The others remain fugitives.

Police and drug agents found about 24,500 marijuana plants growing in 50 converted Central Valley homes in Elk Grove, Lathrop, Modesto, Sacramento, Stockton and Tracy in 200607.

"We estimate that on an annual basis these homes could have produced nearly 11 tons of highgrade marijuana worth an estimated street value of $96 million," said Gordon Taylor, who heads the DEA's Central Valley office. "Average price for highgrade marijuana on the street is $4,000 per pound, and it's even more than that if you buy marijuana by the ounce at the dispensaries here in California."

There is no evidence marijuana from the houses went to medical marijuana dispensaries, Taylor said.

The operators punched out walls, installed expensive ventilation and hydration equipment and tapped power lines to grow thousands of plants in the upscale suburban homes. Agents said the growing systems alone cost tens of thousands of dollars for each home.

Officer Chris Trim of the Elk Grove Police Department south of Sacramento said it took federal agents and Internal Revenue Service investigators three years to Jordan 8 Aqua work their way up the chain and through real estate documents.

"Any http://www.itisairjordan.com/ time you're dealing with a level of operation that's very sophisticated, it's going to take time," Trim said.

The investigation "led to the involvement of possible organized crime," Trim said.

Gordon previously said the grow houses appeared connected to a San Franciscobased organized crime syndicate.

The growers bought homes for $400,000 to $600,000, most in subdivisions that were new or a few years old. The Central Jordan 8 Aqua 2015 Valley's housing market has since crashed, substantially lowering the value of most homes. In many cases, real estate records show the buyers abandoned the homes after the drug raids.