Authorities Shut Down Huge Drug Operation
Bank tellers in Spokane smelled marijuana on the weekly cash deposits from an interior design business. They told authorities, who cracked a huge indoor pot-growing operation.
The marijuana was being grown in homes ranging in value from $136,000 to more than $343,000, including one on Spokane’s scenic High Drive.
Five people in their 50s and 60s were arrested on federal drug charges. The five made initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno on charges of manufacture of more than 100 marijuana plants.
“This was literally right under everybody’s nose,” U.S. Atty. James McDevitt said. “It represents a sizable and sophisticated drug operation. The potential for the loss of assets [by the defendants] is pretty great.”
Federal prosecutors moved to seize seven homes in Spokane and an eighth residence in Lewiston, Idaho, with a combined market value exceeding $2 million.
Agents also searched a Moses Lake farm where investigators say they believe the marijuana grown in Spokane was processed.
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