Indoor Pot Farms Found; 5 Arrested

Four men and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of operating elaborate indoor marijuana cultivation systems that produced nearly $5 million in pot.

Capping a four-month investigation, about 60 FBI agents and local officers from Ventura and Los Angeles counties seized packaged marijuana and marijuana plants valued at $4.75 million. The indoor pot plantations were discovered in Northridge and Sylmar homes.

Cash uncovered at five homes and in bank accounts totaled more than $700,000, said Sgt. Curt Rothschiller of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Of that amount, $250,000 was seized Thursday from safe deposit boxes, checking and savings accounts at nine bank branches, including one in Thousand Oaks, Rothschiller said.

A cache of weapons was also recovered. Eight cars were impounded, Rothschiller said.

Police arrested Westlake Village residents Thomas Kikuchi, 48, and Stephanie Landa, 51; Sherman Oaks residents Claude TTanna, 56, and Peter Halverson, 35; and 39-year-old Marc Tuchman of Van Nuys.

More arrests and drug seizures were expected in Ventura County, Rothschiller said.

Nineteen search warrants were executed at five houses, five industrial park buildings and at nine bank branches, Rothschiller said. All the sites were in western Los Angeles County.

The surveillance operation began in December with FBI agents and Simi Valley police officers staking out homes in Westlake Village, Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys. Arrests and drug seizures were made Wednesday in those cities as well as in Sylmar and Northridge.

“It is pretty sophisticated. It’s a lot of money, a lot of plants and a lot of dope. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more out there,” Rothschiller said.

At least two suspects are alleged to be the caretakers of the crops while the others were described as growers and brokers. Rothschiller said it appeared none of the suspects had other careers.

“We followed them for months and we never saw any of them really work,” the sergeant said.

The suspects were booked into the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Substation jail on suspicion of conspiracy, cultivation, possession of marijuana for sales and sales of marijuana. Bail for each suspect was set at $250,000.