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Police Say More Than 16,000 Pot Plants Seized In Drug Raids
POSTED: 9:41 am PDT April 23,
2008
UPDATED: 6:34 pm PDT April 23,
2008
SEATTLE -- Two people have been arrested and another 12 have been indicted in connection with a drug ring.Feds are calling this sweep by law enforcement, Operation Green Reaper, which targeted indoor marijuana grow houses Wednesday morning.Two garden supply centers including one in Auburn, and the Greenhouse & Garden Supply in Tukwila were also raided.Federal agents removed grow lights from a house in Sammamish after an early morning raid. The residence was just one of 27 homes raided since January 2007, according to charging documents. Police say more than 16,000 marijuana plants have been seized.One neighbor told KIRO-7 that she could often smell marijuana, especially on warm days.The raided homes were in King, Snohomish, Pierce and Thurston counties.The Feds say to lessen suspicion, many plants were grown inside houses in upscale neighborhoods. “Suddenly a nice neighborhood becomes a bad neighborhood you have a house that can't be sold because it’s a toxic waste site,” said Mark Bartlett, Assistant U.S. Attorney.Drug Enforcement Agents expect to catch the remaining 12 soon.The feds are also investigating the connection of a mortgage company to this ring.
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