Underground pot operation uncovered
An extensive subterranean marijuana growing operation has been broken up and three men arrested, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The three are allegedly linked to an underground pot farm in Santa Ysabel in a woodsy area of northeast San Diego County.
The farm was accessible only through an elevator in a garage and then a 65-foot-long tunnel, according to a federal criminal complaint. The growing rooms had sophisticated irrigation, lighting, electrical and ventilation systems. Hundreds of plants were seized, according to court documents.
Lights and security cameras around the property were meant to warn the occupants if someone approached, prosecutors said.
Charged with multiple felonies are Damien Anthony Andrews, 34, of Encinitas; Anthony Martin Hillerby, 40, of Encinitas; and Sean Smith, 35, of Santa Ysabel. They are being held in the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center pending arraignment.
The 39-acre property is owned by Andrews, who also owns ocean-view homes in Oceanside and Encinitas. Andrews paid $1.4 million for the Encinitas home in November, officials said.
As part of the criminal case, the IRS is seeking to seize the property as having been purchased with drug money.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Sherri Walker Hobson, who has prosecuted 60 marijuana cases in two years, said that though fields and greenhouse operations are common, this was the first underground operation discovered by authorities.
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