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New York States Largest Indoor Grow Op Busted

AOD2012

I have the key, now i need to find the lock..
Veteran
and another one bites the dust. 6000lbs!

"The authorities said they were initially led to the operation after federal agents pulled over a car in the area that smelled of marijuana."


once again, fucking rats bringing everybody else down.


3 Tons of Marijuana Seized in Sullivan County Raid
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Published: March 30, 2011
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Federal drug officials have helped break up an upstate drug ring and seized more than 6,000 pounds of marijuana worth nearly $20 million, they announced on Wednesday.

The drug ring, based in Sullivan County, was distributing marijuana across the Northeast, including New York City. The authorities said the operation was spread across a number of homes in Mamakating, a town of 11,000 about an hour and a half from Manhattan.

On Tuesday night, federal drug enforcement agents and Sullivan County Sheriff’s officers raided the homes, seized more than 6,300 marijuana plants and arrested 16 people, Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in court documents.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration called it the largest breakup of an indoor marijuana-growing operation in New York’s history.

“Hidden in houses located within the suburban communities of Sullivan County, these individuals were responsible for farming the most abused illicit drug in our nation,” John P. Gilbridge, Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge, said in a statement.

The authorities said they were initially led to the operation after federal agents pulled over a car in the area that smelled of marijuana.

Lawyers for the arrested people could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday night. They were all detained without bail. If convicted, each faces a minimum sentence of 10 years, and a maximum of life in prison.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/nyregion/31pot.html



aod
 

Hydrosun

I love my life
Veteran
It is fucking sick, but I chuckle when I see this and think my east coast friends can now get a little more or move a little easier. I'd prefer to see those 3 tons helping people, but at least the side effect is a greater demand for my friends.

:joint:
 
W

wiseone

A classic case why it's best to stay a small mom/pop operation instead of trying to become a fortune 500 company.
I'll guarantee a min of a dozen outta the 16 will cop to plea's and drop dimes on others. Wouldn't want to be a part of that circle.
 

TickleMyBalls

just don't molest my colas..
Veteran
very little detail. i'm guessing this is your typical cop math. theres no way people growing in houses in NY would be able to produce 6000lbs, or have that processed on hand. my guess is this... they weighed all 6300 plants wet, roots and all. said it was 3 tons worth of pot. really it was more like 6500lbs of pot plants, not all flowering, none dried for consumption. normally stories will report on the amount of "packaged product" seized.
 

Yes4Prop215

Active member
Veteran
bullshit....6000lbs my ass. fuck lying ass cops. like tickle said i bet they weighed all the root stalks or something.

one important thing...this illustrates how ONE SIMPLE TRAFFIC STOP can bring down an entire criminal organization. they pull you over, find you with buds, then raid your house. important to make sure your DMV registered address is NOT YOUR GROW/STASH house.....i pay for private party background checks on myself to make sure my grow spot is not registered with my name and luckily it isnt....thank god for mom and dads house!

in cali this wouldnt even put a dent in supply, but out there who knows. its already getting kinda dry around the country...even in the hot spots. its easy to find but not in your face down your throat like december....
 
Saw this on news, these were illegal mexican immigrants.

And of course they weigh the root ball and stems, you think they are going to trim the buds then weigh them lol, I think not... As I'd do the same throw the whole shitload on the scale. Gives for a bigger headline also.

Anyways this won't put a dent in anything except for the low grade swag supply.
 

nomaad

Active member
Veteran
I concur, obvious cop math. from the headline, i figured that they found a stash of west coast outdoor alongside some kind of indoor grow and they were moronically alleging that it had all been grown on site. but no. cop math.
 

JJScorpio

Thunderstruck
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Those plants they took were some of the smallest buds I've ever seen. The plants had been deleafed and the buds were left on the stalks and they weren't any bigger than your middle finger. I don't know where they are coming up with those numbers. It looked like it would take 50 plants to get a pound......
 

The Bulk

Member
Electric bill got them under suspicion!



Officials are calling it the biggest marijuana bust in the history of Sullivan County: more than 7,000 pot plants, with a street value approaching $20 million, were seized from seven properties in the towns of Mamakating, Lumberland and Highland between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.

A total of 15 people were arrested by local and federal law enforcement officials on charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. DEA Special Agent-in-charge John Gilbride said the marijuana was intended for distribution in New York and in cities throughout the Northeast.

"We believe it will be a record, probably the biggest seizure in Sullivan County," said Undersheriff Eric Chaboty. He said the indoor hydroponic marijuana growing operation was "highly sophisticated," producing plants that would yield about two pounds each of high-grade marijuana.

Teams of agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Sullivan County sheriff's deputies, assisted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, started the operation about 4 p.m. Tuesday. They had been investigating extraordinarily high utility bills from a couple of properties, typically a clue to so-called grow houses.

DEA agents and deputies were checking the property at 1193 Pine Kill Road in Mamakating, a secluded property guarded by a stone gate and "no trespassing" signs, which leads to private Bear Drive. DEA agents and deputies saw a man locking the gate to the private road. An SUV was parked inside, occupied by several people, and a Lincoln Town Car pulled up behind the SUV. A DEA agent spoke to the man locking the gate and the Lincoln driver; both reeked of marijuana.

"They stunk out loud," Chaboty said.

As agents walked on Bear Drive, another car and a U-Haul approached from inside; they were also stopped, and all the suspects there were taken into custody. The suspects admitted to being "workers for an organization that grows marijuana, headed by another individual," according to the federal criminal complaint.

With the consent of one of the suspects, agents and police searched the 1193 Pine Kill Road/48 Bear Drive property; they found more than 1,000 pot plants, police said.

Another suspect told police about most of the other properties. From there, authorities hit house after house through the night and early morning, raiding addresses on South Road and Brooktrail Road in the Town of Mamakating; on Decker Road, Tuthill Road and Haring Road in Lumberland; and on Barker Road in the Town of Highland.

They called in assistance in the form of 30 more agents from the New York City Organized Crime Strike Force. By the time officials reached the last house, the occupants had fled, leaving food on the table.

"They must have been tipped, because they were gone," Chaboty said.

The pot plants were in various stages of growth, and some had been cut and dried.

All 15 arrested were described by law enforcement as immigrants from South and Central America; 14 of them were said to be undocumented immigrants. All were being taken to U.S. District Court in White Plains on Wednesday for arraignment.

At 800 South Road, a plain, gray-sided ranch house with an American flag hanging over the porch, agents were still clearing plants out of the property Wednesday afternoon. When the door was open, marijuana could be smelled from the road about 50 yards away.

The entire South Road property is surrounded by a 6-foot tall security fence posted with "Beware of Dogs" and "No Trespassing" signs.

A bevy of New York City media had camped out there. DEA officials backed up a U-Haul and unloaded cut plants that had been stuffed into plastic bags for the cameras.

Growers had apparently bypassed the electrical meters to avoid detection at the South Road house and another property; two other properties, including some of the buildings at the Pine Kill address, were powered by commercial grade diesel generators.

A man named John who lives near the South Road house, where 400-500 plants were seized, said the 6-foot-high security fences around the property went up last spring.
 

DiscoBiscuit

weed fiend
Veteran
Those plants they took were some of the smallest buds I've ever seen. The plants had been deleafed and the buds were left on the stalks and they weren't any bigger than your middle finger. I don't know where they are coming up with those numbers. It looked like it would take 50 plants to get a pound......

The growers were trying their new defoliation technique.:D With 6000 plants, I bet roots, dirt and nursery pots that didn't fall off in the flip got weighed. Those chumps better have some good lawyers.
 

PistilPete

Enjoying the ride
ICMag Donor
Veteran
High elec bills, but they were stealing power and using gennys at other spots? This story is all kinds of shady....
 

The Bulk

Member
Whats wrong with this picture is most of the ones caught could not have been making much money,just trimmers who just got done IMO.Now facing life in prison on FED charges WTF.When is America going to wake up.
 
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