Lynwood cops uncover 2-acre pot-growing operation, seize $3M in plants
BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY slafferty@southtownstar.com September 4, 2012 4:50PM
Lynwood Police Chief Michael Mears
Maps
Updated: October 6, 2012 1:50PM
Lynwood police have uncovered a sophisticated pot-growing operation that spanned two acres and produced plants with an estimated street value of $3 million, police Chief Mike Mears said Tuesday in a news release.
Mears would not comment about any suspects, saying the investigation is ongoing.
Lynwood police, led by Sgt. Jessie Hernandez, on Thursday executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2600 block of Glenwood-Dyer Road and discovered the home had been transformed into a “cannabis-growing and manufacturing facility,” Mears said in the release.
During the search, police noticed a water hose that ran a half-mile from the house to a nearby field, where they found two acres of marijuana in various stages of growth, police said. The set-up had its own irrigation system.
Officers also located a small bunker with firearms and coolers for those who worked the fields, police said, and police removed an estimated 2 tons of marijuana plants from the fields.
Inside the house, Mears said, police discovered that every room was set up for a different phase of pot growing and packaging. An estimated 10 pounds of marijuana was taken from the home, along with manufacturing and packaging equipment, he said.
All of the confiscated marijuana is being held at a secure location until pending litigation is complete and a destroy order is obtained, Mears said.
Assisting Lynwood police in removing plants from the field were agents from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, which is part of a federal program whose mission includes coordination efforts to reduce the production, manufacturing, distribution, transportation and chronic use of illegal drugs, according to its website.
Cook County sheriff’s helicopters were used for aerial surveillance “from which we were able to grasp the true scale of this illegal operation,” Mears said.
Mears commended his officers and village public works employees who worked for several days to dismantle the operation.
