Pubdate: Fri, 19 Dec 2003
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.oaklandtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/314
Author: Laura Counts, Staff Writer

COPS BUST MARIJUANA OPERATION

OAKLAND - Police officers serving a search warrant at a West Oakland
warehouse at 8 a.m. Thursday were greeted by the strains of Rick James
singing "I love Mary Jane" and a pungent smell.

They said they uncovered the largest pot-growing operation any of them
had ever seen -- just seven blocks from the police station.

The Glove Company building at 1121 7th St. had been converted into a
massive marijuana nursery. The basement and second floor contained
more than 1,000 potted plants -- from seedlings to mature plants heavy
with large buds -- as well as bags of soil, empty pots, drying plants
and bags of weed ready for sale.

The first floor appeared to be in the process of being converted into
another growing area.

"Officers have smelled marijuana in the area in the past but weren't
able to pinpoint it," said police Sgt. Demetrio Lozares II. "This is
the largest growing operation I've seen."

Officers Bernard Ortiz and Todd Bergeron developed the information to
obtain the search warrant, Lozares said. Officers arrested one person,
possibly a worker, who was on his way out when they were entering.

Lozares said police had not found any documents to indicate the
marijuana was being grown for medical use. Growers who are cultivating
the plants for medical use are required to keep documentation on site.

There was a pot-leaf sticker that read "for medical use only" stuck to
a clock in a room where the plants were being trimmed and processed.
The clock hung above a sign urging workers to fill out their time
cards every Friday, because payday was Saturday.

There were other signs the operation had a full staff. A notepad in a
room that appeared to be an office listed employees' work hours (first
names and nicknames only were used) and how much they were owed. They
appeared to be earning about $20 per hour. An open safe in the office
was filled with Ziploc baggies of dried buds.

Officers sat around a table strewn with bongs, pipes and other
paraphernalia, resting from the long task of cataloging the bust. A
white board on the wall gave instructions for trimming, weighing and
processing the plants. It also told workers to weigh buds before
purchasing them.

A sophisticated system of wiring, timers, lighting, heaters and fans
helped the plants thrive and kept the rooms ventilated. On the third
floor, a large harvest had recently taken place, with rows of empty
pots and bags of used soil filling a room and hallway. One room was
filled with drying branches. Another large room, where the windows
were covered with white plastic, was empty except for rows of growing
lights.

There were also large plastic bins filled with dried
weed.

Police determined Pacific Gas & Electric had shut off the power to the
building in August after a $13,000 bill had accumulated, but they
hadn't found out when it was turned back on or whether the current
power use was legal.

Lozares said police have not determined the value of the drugs found
in the bust. A 2001 bust netting 259 pounds of pot had been the
largest in recent memory, but this may be larger.

The state Department of Transportation used The Glove Building as a
"one-stop-shop" for services and information during the Cypress
Structure replacement project. Caltrans moved in in 1992 and vacated
in 1997. The building has had a Southern California owner -- who could
not be reached for comment -- since 1992. It was originally a glove
factory, the home of the Hodkins Glove Co.
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MAP posted-by: Derek