Smell of pot smoked out marijuana farm next to LAPD station

In the end, despite a sophisticated filtration system, it was the smell that smoked out the marijuana-growing operation located just 25 feet from the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga station in Canoga Park.

LAPD officials said officers began noticing the smell of pot Tuesday morning, investigated, got warrants and closed down the indoor farm within eight hours.

Three men were taken into custody earlier Wednesday after officers served a search warrant on the warehouse in the 8400 block of Canoga Avenue.

Growers had built three rooms in the building -- one for seedlings, another for medium-sized plants and one where harvesting was apparently conducted, police said. The lights were controlled so they wouldn't overheat, watering systems were automated and oxygen levels were supplemented by carbon dioxide tanks, according to police.

"It was very sophisticated," said LAPD Officer Karen Raynor.

She said the growers used insulation material to seal cracks in the building. But about a week ago, officers in the station's parking lot noticed something out of the ordinary.

"They happened to catch a whiff of it," Raynor said.

A surveillance operation was launched, and officers obtained the warrant. The names of the three men, who appeared to be in their 30s, were not released because they had not been booked.

-- Robert J. Lopez

 Photo: Interior growing room of marijuana warehouse. Credit: KTLA

In the end, despite a sophisticated filtration system, it was the smell that smoked out the marijuana-growing operation located just 25 feet from the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga station in Canoga Park.

LAPD officials said officers began noticing the smell of pot Tuesday morning, investigated, got warrants and closed down the indoor farm within eight hours.

Three men were taken into custody earlier Wednesday after officers served a search warrant on the warehouse in the 8400 block of Canoga Avenue.

Growers had built three rooms in the building -- one for seedlings, another for medium-sized plants and one where harvesting was apparently conducted, police said. The lights were controlled so they wouldn't overheat, watering systems were automated and oxygen levels were supplemented by carbon dioxide tanks, according to police.

"It was very sophisticated," said LAPD Officer Karen Raynor.

She said the growers used insulation material to seal cracks in the building. But about a week ago, officers in the station's parking lot noticed something out of the ordinary.

"They happened to catch a whiff of it," Raynor said.

A surveillance operation was launched, and officers obtained the warrant. The names of the three men, who appeared to be in their 30s, were not released because they had not been booked.

-- Robert J. Lopez

 Photo: Interior growing room of marijuana warehouse. Credit: KTLA

Comments

[cev-null]

Not exactly the brighest idea I have heard............

[Pablo]

How can anybody be so smart ... and so stupid?

[Bob-b]

FAMOUS LAST WORDS - a one-scene play

Three men are passing a baby-arm sized joint around.
Stoner 1: {"Cough, cough! Hey, man ... let['s ... um ... grow pot in that building next to the cop station. Heh, heh, haw.{"
Stoner 2: {"Yeah, that would be cool{"
Stoner 3: {"Cough, cough, cough! COUGH! Man, this is some good stuff. Yeah, bro, we could call it Cop Pot.Heh, heh.{"
Stoner 2: {"Yeah, and who would be stupid enough to rip us off if we['re next to a cop station?{"

[monkeyboy]

I guess the cops are familiar with the smell of pot?

Is that something they familiarized themselves with on the job or elsewhere?

Why don't we just legalize most drugs and de-criminalize those offenses. We could tax them and not have to pay to incarcerate?

[woody]

they aren't that dumb. how much money you think they made before they got caught? they'll get off easy and it's money in the bank.

[Hairy Carrion]

I agree with monkeyboy. And by the way, not all people who smoke pot are like the characters out of a bad Cheech and Chong movie. The dirty hippie perception of this plant is just old and tired and ignorant.

It's long past time to legalize it and move on.

And yes, how is it cops know the smell of cannabis? ; P

[KK]

Brazen move. Drug cartels are moving into neighborhoods and slowing infiltrating our society and government. They have occupied state and national park already. Can we stop it?

[Tom, Long Beach, California]

monkey boy is correct, that is the solution. Prohibition just drives more usage and crime.....take the gangs and the crime out of the equation

[Bill]

Talk about Homegrown!

[jinx]

I saw it on the news last night.
They are just helping the violent mexican cartels by taking local weed off the streets. Less weed here means more for the violent mexican cartels so the police are on the same side as the cartels. Marijuana sales is the largest cash crop and the single largest source of revenue for the violent mexican cartels who continue to turn Mexico into a nightmare. The cops are helping the cartels by taking down local growers.

How do they know they weren't growers for the collectives?
what are the cops going to do with all that weed??
Throwing away millions of dollars worth of weed would actually be pretty ignorant too. Why don't they just give it all to the cartels so they can fund more of their beheadings and tortures.
Cops and cartels are on the same side.

[TYC]

Winning that drug war, right. Growing right under their noses now. Geez, I can't make this stuff up.

[Sergio]

Dude.

[Brent in KY]

Let me get this strait, they were growing right next to the police, for how long? If there was harveting going on then it had to be at least 4 months or longer. So to me this shows a huge truth about prohibition.

If the cops cant even find pot growing next door to there station how do they think they will ever stop the growing/selling or consuming of marijuana period? Come on, it was right there and they had no clue till the system broke down, something caused it to start smelling because it hadnt prior to that. So if the system hadn't broke down they would still be growing right there and the cops wouldnt have a clue.

This is a picture that speeks a thousand words about prohibition. Wouldnt we be better off taxing that grow and letting regulations control it. The police would then have the funds to fight real crimes and we would stop arresting non violent cannabis consumers that normaly are good everyday citizens with families and jobs.

Wake up America, we have a failed policy that is tearing this nation apart from the inside. The longer we keep ingorning it and keep enforceing it, the more dammage we will see. We have a chance to control the market, get the control away from criminals, regulate who can have it, grow it or sell it, keeping our kids safer and education the public about the truth. Then we also will tax it, taking that money to get our country back on its feet. Heathcare? Ha, we could pay for healthcare if we just legalize cannabis and taxed it.

[MarkD]

Hairy Carrion, There was only 1 bad Cheech and Chong movie and it was the one that had nothing to do with weed. The Corsican Bro.'s

[smoke alot]

you guys must be stoned ! talking silly n stuff.how are cops not going to know the smell of weed?legal or not i grow my own.recover your brain cells before you end up like a mummy dummy.All that money the weed shops make and it still don't make a difference with the economy were talking about billions not chump change in millions.there tight with there cash just like the government is.sorry to say but legalizing weed aint going to change nothing.unless the medical shops want donate alot of money to help the needy.but do you actualy think they would do that?dont kid your self.they only see one interest which is what the cartel wants more money.and they would go to the extreme.

[mike]

Weed stinks big time I grew a couple plants once along time ago under a grow light the whole freaken house smelled and that was only 4 plants for my own use! These clowns screwed up big time.

[MalibuBarbie]

How sad when our City has crimes against children, hit and run drivers, gangs and deadly street crimes not to mention the constant threat of terrorism against our great nation that our police force and spending time taking down grow houses. These are plants! They are grown to assist patients that need medication. When was the last time you heard a CVS Pharmacy raided?
We the People need to set this wrong to a right and get the Medical Marijuana legalized and taxed. The taxes from this would help fund the crippled California Budget and allow patients easy access to a medication that often times replaces the need for narcotics in pain management. In point when booze was made legal all the rum runners went straight out of business. Legalize marijuana and say bye-bye to the drug cartels operating for profit in our City. Let's free up our police force so they are working to end serious and deadly crime in Los Angeles. From the article I understand no arrests were made so was there a crime? NO!

[scottportraits]

Maybe they were growing it for the local medical dispensary, and have licenses and pay taxes on it ? Maybe they keep strict books and pay themselves $15. per hour. Maybe they were taking a big risk, so others, like patients in pain, could have their medicine.

Maybe they aren't really criminals after all, in fear of the police station. Maybe it's where a wharehouse could be rented cheaply. Maybe it is just what it appears to be: a medium-sized medical cannabis grow room.

[Lori Juarez]

OMG yeah they were thinking that they were smart and that the cops think their home turf is safe so that maybe they wont look around for suspicious stuff,BUT HEY GUESS WHAT POT SMELLS YOU DUMBASSES!!!!!!!!!!!

[SoCal Girl]

Bob-b, LOL!

monkeyboy et al., I've been for legalization for as long as I've had the right vote, which is more than 25 years. However, I must admit that some recent, really stupid, self-caused, alcohol-related deaths have led me to reconsider this position.
________

During my college days, the guys across the street decided to grow a quality pot plant. (To give you an idea of our use, none of us would smoke during the week, but we would get together at 11:11PM most Saturday nights, and light up a bong before the start of SNL.)

As the guys' plant grew, we would check it out each Saturday to see if we thought it was ready for harvest. Well, one Saturday we all agreed it just needed one more week, and we'd harvest it the following Saturday.

On Thursday of that last week, the guys arrived home from school to discover the pot plant gone, and in it's place a short note which read: "If you'd like to get your property back, please call ###-###-####. Sincerely, The Phantom Sheriff."

We later learned that, while you couldn't see the plant from the street, due to the large hedge that ran in front of the house, a substitute mailman had noticed it when he had to go past the hedge to get to the front door for a signature, and reported it. : (

Based on our experience with the local Sheriffs, all bets were that The Phantom Sheriff harvested the plant and enjoyed the harvest with his friends. So, I'm just wondering whether all of the "evidence" actually got booked in this L.A.P.D. bust.