[JonnybeGood]

Over the past couple years there have been several people busted for growing in my part of town and a few for havin mass quantity.
Point is LEO problaby knows this is a hot spot.

Today i got an ad in my door from a "hydrostore". They evidently canvassed the neighborhood with these. Now i have never heard of a garden store going door to door with flyers. Seems really weird to me. the coupons were 10% of entire purchase and 15% of single item.. pretty good deals id say..little too good??
I wouldnt put it past leo to canvass hot spots with these ads in hopes that growers visit this specific hydro store. Then when they visit, they get plate numbers from the suspicious ones and/or follow them home.
Definently a possibilty right?

What do you guys think???

sounds like leo is entraping people. Send sombody's grand-ma in and take advantage of leos deep discounts.

I'd call the hydro store from a phone booth and ask them if them if they're working with the man,at the very least you get to freak out the person on the other end haha.I'd be curious as to why they need to distribute flyers too

Clearly, if you do buy from the store, go in a friend's car, or get a friend to go for you

[bong_chat]

If I may add to Bulldog's post.

I'm as thrifty as it gets, and I would hate to miss out on a coupon like that, but to me it also reeks of setup. I would seriously be careful.

If you go, plan on going on a day that you have alot to do. Have a friend drive you, you don't need your car ID'd. PAY CASH!!! Credit cards are like holding up a sign with your address and phone number for the police to see. Go anywhere you can away from your grow for awhile. Hit several places, and stay out for hours on end. Go visit family or something. Just don't go straight to your grow.

But the safest thing to do, is if you are having doubts, find another store. The 15% off a new reflector isn't worth the cost of legal defense if you get pinched.

[Verite]

I hate to break it to you but I dont know of many local police forces that get the kind of budgeted funds for running a legit growing store in the hopes they stumble on growers. By and large local police forces are working off rediculously low budgets to begin with. Can you see the police chief asking the mayor for a grow store? I dont.

[bong_chat]

They don't need to run their own growing shop. They just need to flip the right person. Or the right shop owner. It's not that hard really.

"hey, shop owner A. We have you selling X piece of equipment to person B who we believe you know is using it for the purpose of doing Y. You can avoid a fine/court date/lengthy investigation by working with us on a sting".

If you have 5 shops in an area, at least 1 of them will crap themselves and go along with it.

Believe me, I have cops in my family, and I hear about just this kind of thing happening all the time. Usually not about weed though. All but 1 of them could give a hairy rats asscrack about weed, unless your driving and stoned. And that 1 who was a hard ass about weed...yeah he ended up serving time himself. I never liked him.

[bong_chat]

Ohh yeah, Verite. I love your avatar. I hope you don't mind, but I stole it, blew it up and made it my desktop at work. My manager wasn't happy about it, but the VP of human resources saw it, and laughed his ass off. I got to keep it.

[Verite]

You should have gandered at my other avatars like jesus on the phone, jesus packing guns, and the sad ones that got banned like the small toy baby peeking out a vagina and the baby teething on glock.

Originally Posted by bong_chat

They don't need to run their own growing shop. They just need to flip the right person. Or the right shop owner. It's not that hard really.

"hey, shop owner A. We have you selling X piece of equipment to person B who we believe you know is using it for the purpose of doing Y. You can avoid a fine/court date/lengthy investigation by working with us on a sting".

If you have 5 shops in an area, at least 1 of them will crap themselves and go along with it.

Believe me, I have cops in my family, and I hear about just this kind of thing happening all the time. Usually not about weed though. All but 1 of them could give a hairy rats asscrack about weed, unless your driving and stoned. And that 1 who was a hard ass about weed...yeah he ended up serving time himself. I never liked him.

That might work in Mayberry but I figure if your smart enough to run a grow store your smart enough to get a lawyer to tell your relatives and the other Barney Fife's to come back when you got an arrest warrant and some proof or quit wasting everyones time.

Ever see what happens at any grow store or even a head shop for that matter when you mention pot? You get your dumb ass kicked out like everyone else, same as any dumb cop would if he was stupid enough to try and get that kind of evidence. The days you talk about are long gone. Especially when theres what? 13 states now that have legit medical MJ and attempting to sift/sort thru legit from illegal growers would be completely useless.

[Vermonster]

i already posted this somewhere else in this same forum and i apologize for double posting, but i think you should all see this so I'am gonn take my chances of getting in a wee bit of trouble....see below.

Garden Shop Owners Indicted In Marijuana Manufacturing Conspiracy
DEA: Defendants Offered Advice and Equipment to Dozens of Marijuana Growers

APR 11 -- (SEATTLE) – The DEA’s Seattle Field Division announced six people were arrested this morning after being indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The arrests stem from a year-long investigation in which law enforcement officials seized thousands of marijuana plants at over 30 indoor locations in and around South King County.

It is alleged that at the center of the conspiracy was Kent Distributor, Inc., also called Kent Garden Supplies, which is located at 18840 72nd Ave. S., Kent, Washington. According to the indictment, the company purchased supplies and equipment from the U.S. and Canada and then resold them to other conspirators for use in marijuana grows. The store’s owners and employees also allegedly provided advice to co-conspirators about how to grow marijuana and protect their assets while avoiding law enforcement detection. Some conspirators were even allowed to get supplies and equipment on credit and pay back the debt with profit from their marijuana crop.

“Today, the DEA, along with our federal, state, and local partners, short circuited a very sophisticated, expansive, and organized drug trafficking network,” said Rodney G. Benson, DEA Special Agent in Charge. “By providing subject matter expertise to marijuana cultivators, this organization was in the process of altering the landscape of marijuana manufacturing in the northwest, further endangering our neighborhoods and communities.”

The indictment also charges that more than $5,000,000 was laundered through Kent Distributor Inc. and associated personal bank accounts from 2003 to 2006.

DEA agents searched the warehouse and offices of Kent Distributor today, as well as storage locations leased by the business. In addition, agents also searched five residences (in Federal Way, Auburn, Renton, Packwood, and Glenoma) suspected of housing marijuana grows operated by clients of Kent Distributor Inc. Agents discovered growing marijuana plants at each of those sites, and seized a total of more than 1800 mature plants, and more than 1000 starter plants.

Agents seized the company’s entire inventory, and are seeking to forfeit it along with five residences in South King County. In addition, agents seized and will seek to forfeit the contents of more than thirty bank accounts controlled by the company and associated individuals.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United states Marshals Service, King County Sheriff’s Office, Seattle Police Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Valley Narcotics Enforcement Team (VNET) and detectives from the cities of Kent, Auburn, and Renton.