Police arrest suspected pot growers

Gretchen Hoffman

GLENDALE -- A drug bust resulted in eight arrests and netted a crop of

“chronic” marijuana plants with a street value of more than $4 million,

Glendale Police said.

Investigators serving a search warrant on Tuesday night found a

sophisticated hydroponic growing setup, the likes of which are rarely

seen in Glendale, police said.

Police found about 300 marijuana plants in a home in the 1800 block of

Sunshine Court and served two more search warrants on two homes in Silver

Lake, Investigator Luis Pasache said.

About 450 plants were found in the three homes and eight people were

arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana, Pasache said. Two of the

suspects lived in the Glendale home: Alexander Sinclair, 30, and Daniel

Dirks, 29, police said.

The cultivation system in the Glendale home was the most sophisticated

of the three, with rotating heat lamps, a carbon dioxide generator and a

professional electric system, police said.

Police received a tip that marijuana was being grown in the homes, and

investigators linked the eight people to the three locations, Pasache

said. Several indicators, such as an extremely high electric bill and DMV

records linked the suspects to the operation, he said.

All of the people arrested worked for the movie industry, Pasache

added.

No additional arrests are expected in connection with the bust, police

said.