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To Avoid Getting High, Pot-Busting Cops Wore Protective Gear
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 31, 2011
Modified Mar 31, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 31, 2011
Modified Mar 31, 2011
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So how much was yesterday's huge pot bust worth on the street? According to the DEA the haul of 3 tons of dope from 6,000-7,000 plants (earlier reports of 8,000 were apparently a little, uh, high) is worth about $10 million. Which makes it the largest bust of an indoor marijuana-growing operation in New York State history.
The Sullivan County Sheriff's office discovered the grow houses after approaching an SUV that reeked of reefer on Tuesday. While an officer was investigating the vehicle another car pulled up and the driver, according to the complaint, had crumbs of marijuana on his shirt. When it became clear that both cars were affiliated with the gated house they were parked in front of, a search warrant was quickly obtained. The suspects found inside then led the DEA, Sheriff's office and NYPD to the ring's six other houses. (Investigators had already been looking into one of the houses because of the extraordinary amount of electricity it was using.)
Sixteen people were arrested in the raid, many of them pot-perfumed illegal immigrants (when the case is over Immigration will get to them). "These guys stank; it was coming out of their pores," one investigator said before hammering the point home. "They stunk out loud. They were very pungent."
And how much did it smell inside? Well, once the plants were discovered "DEA agents, NYPD cops and members of the Sullivan County Sheriff's office wore protective gear to avoid getting contact highs from the veritable forest" according to the Post.
And what will be done with all of this pot? "Due to the immensity of the haul, investigators could not take the plants to the agency's lab in Chelsea, law-enforcement sources said. Instead, they will be housed in an undisclosed location in Brooklyn."
Finally, in case you were wondering, at least according to the way the DEA rolls 'em, 3 tons of pot is the equivalent of about 3 million joints.
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marijuana
nypd
pot
pot bust
pot farm
Sullivan County
Garth Johnston
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