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Lynnwood Police Department
UPDATE: Huge Indoor Marijuana Grow Operation |
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The South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force along
with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) served 26 search warrants early
June 30 primarily in areas of south Snohomish and north King Counties busting up
a vast, organized Vietnamese Indoor Marijuana Grow Operation. This extraordinary
investigation by the South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force, which started
just eight months ago, is still ongoing. Bust by the Numbers: · Marijuana plants confiscated: About 10,000. Street value is estimated at about $1,000 per plant depending on size and health of the plant. · Arrests: 36 people ranging in age from 19 to 75 were arrested and booked on Manufacturing a Controlled Substance/Marijuana. They were released pending review of state and federal charges. · Search Warrants: 26 search warrants were served early June 30. Twenty five (mostly rental) homes and one business, which is in the 15800 block of Highway 99 in unincorporated Lynnwood. Nineteen of the 25 homes had active indoor marijuana grow operations. · Money: More than $70,000 in cash confiscated. · Electricity stolen/ PUD losses: According to PUD the theft of power is on the average $14,000 per house (there were 19 active grow houses). This is more than a quarter of a million dollars loss to PUD.
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Damage to rental homes: Hundreds of thousands of
dollars in damages that the landlords are responsible for. Lynnwood
Police want any victim home owner from this case to be sure to get a receipt of
damages and give to Lynnwood Police as part of its on-going investigation. · Agencies involved in the June 30 operation: More than 20 local, state and federal agencies were involved in the actual June 30 take down. This included more than 200 law enforcement officers. We’d like to thank all of these agencies that helped out with this South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force Operation: · Lynnwood Police · Edmonds Police · Mountlake Terrace Police · U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) · U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) · Bothell Police · Department of Corrections (DOC) · Eastside Drug Task Force · Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force · Mill Creek Police · Mukilteo Police · Monroe Police · Seattle Police · Everett Police · Snohomish County Sherriff’s Office · King County Sherriff’s Office · Washington State Patrol (WSP) · Public Utilities District (PUD) · Child Protective Services (CPS) · SWAT teams from all agencies listed above The South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force is made up
of detectives from Lynnwood, Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace Police Departments. These detectives have been investigating this organized
Vietnamese Marijuana Growing Operation for the past eight months. In November
2009, tips started coming in regarding a couple of the grow houses. Over the
past eight months the South Snohomish County Detectives tied together these
locations where search warrants were ultimately served early June 30. Most of the homes used for the marijuana grows were rental houses. The damage to the homes are substantial and, often include but aren’t limited to, holes in sheet rock, structural damage, possible mold issues, possible chemical spills, electrical diversions and other fire and life safety issues. One of the main victims in this type of criminal activity
is the Public Utilities District (PUD), because of the amount of electricity
that is stolen for these homes to operate. This marijuana investigation is one of the biggest in the
region let alone for the South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force. These homes are a danger to the community because they are at higher risk of being robbed or burglarized and also being a fire and life safety issue. From a crime prevention standpoint; neighbors who believe they have a home like this in their neighborhood should call 911 to report it. |
