NARCOTICS FORCE BUSTS SOPHISTICATED INDOOR POT FARM

OLYMPIA (AP) -- Thurston County's drug trade took a hit when agents
dismantled a sophisticated indoor marijuana-growing operation they said
yielded $1 million a year in wholesale revenues.

About 500 marijuana plants were seized in Thursday's raid, some as tall as
6 feet and ready to be harvested. Police said the pot farm had been
operating near Rochester in southwest Thurston County for at least two
years, supplying mostly a local market.

The man who lived in the house, Cameron N. Smith, 42, was arrested for
investigation of manufacturing marijuana with intent to deliver while
armed, and other charges, said Detective Jim Black of the Thurston County
Narcotics Task Force. Three men caught with him were charged with
possessing stolen property and methamphetamine.

Smith also could face charges of defrauding a public utility for allegedly
stealing about $1,000 worth of electricity per month by splicing a nearby
service line, said Lance Brown of Puget Sound Energy. The plants were grown
with the use of $20,000 in lighting equipment.

The plants were valued at about $1,250 each, or about $600,000 total, Black
said. Police believe Smith harvested the plants three times a year, which
could have yielded as much as $1.8 million annually, he said.

Detectives from other police agencies also raided three homes and two
storage lockers in Thurston County, netting another 21 marijuana plants,
$20,000 in cash and a stolen truck.

Police hope to arrest at least four more people.

Despite the big bust, Black said other growers will fill the void. "You'll
probably see the availability diminish a little bit, but not much," he said.

Copyright 1998 Associated Press.