Sacramento Area Homes New 'It' Place To Grow Pot

clock Sep 4, 2006 5:08 pm US/Pacific
Sacramento Area Homes New 'It' Place To Grow Pot
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John Lobertini
Reporting

(CBS 5) The suburbs are apparently the new "it" place for marijuana growers. In Elk Grove, pot farmers bought homes, covered the windows with cardboard, brought in 1,000 watt lights, a watering system and business was booming.

D.E.A. agents called this "extremely sophisticated." The growers turned every room in the house into a marijuana garden. They tore down and put up walls. They also created a ventilation system to release the odor. It sure caught neighbor Ludwig Fleming by surprise.

"You know I was thinking: if they were growing marijuana I would smell something, but I didn't smell anything at all," Fleming said.

Since early August, the DEA has uncovered 21 houses with almost identical marijuana growing operations. 15 in Elk Grove, the other six in Sacramento.

About three weeks ago, undercover agents watched two men load 12 black garbage bags into a cargo van in Elk Grove and then drove to San Francisco.

The van, according to federal court records, made a beeline to a Kung Fu Studio in Chinatown.

"Thus far it appears to have the markings of Asian Organized Crime," said Gordon Taylor of the DEA. "But we have not verified that. We're still in the process of connecting all the dots right now."

Those two men are 29-year-old Phillip Yu of Oakland and 35-year-old Wei Lun Zhow of Chinatown. Both are facing federal indictments along with 25-year-old Christy Tan of San Francisco and 25-year-old John Hin of Oakland.

"A lot of people live in a society where you go to work, you do what you're supposed to do and you don't have time for your neighbors," said Chris Trimm of the Elk Grove Police Department. The criminals notice they're going to pick area's of the city where they can draw the least attention."

They even tried to avoid raising red flags over the huge amounts of electricity they were using. The solution: cut into the electrical system and bypass the meter.

Drug agents say this carefully cultivated dope was more potent and more valuable. In just one year, these sunburned pot gardens could have produced 14,000 pounds of mariuana with a street value of $56 million.

"I have never seen this many indoor grow seizures in such a confined area; in such a short period of time. It's absolutely unprecedented," Taylor said.

Property records show seven people have ownership in more than one of the 21 homes now tied up in the investigation. A fifth suspect may soon be arrested, but agents do not believe they are close to the kingpins of the massive drug operation.

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