FEDS JOIN POT SEARCH

Officials Have Seized 52,000 Plants In Raids

As a statewide marijuana trafficking probe widens with almost daily
raids on indoor "grow houses," federal authorities have agreed to step in.

The U.S. Attorney's Office will prosecute the bulk of the cases that
have resulted in raids on 55 houses in 13 Georgia counties since
mid-February, including two in Hall, an official with the Drug
Enforcement Administration's Atlanta office said Thursday.

The DEA's Ruth Porter-Whipple referred all questions to the office of
the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Patrick
Crosby, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, would not confirm
or deny the office's involvement.

Fayette County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Pruitt, the commander of the drug
task force that initiated the investigation, said the decision to
involve federal officials was made during a Wednesday meeting of the
Georgia Governor's Drug Task Force.

"It was time to get the feds involved," said Pruitt, who added that
the DEA has an active role in the investigation. "It had just gotten
too big and in too many jurisdictions."

As of Thursday, officials estimate they have seized 52,000 marijuana
plants worth roughly $63 million, as well as $25.4 million in indoor
growing equipment. Gwinnett County alone has raided 11 houses and
seized some $10 million worth of pot, including searches at two more
houses this week. On Thursday, more searches were being conducted in
Walton County, Pruitt said.

In Hall County, on Feb. 19 and Feb. 21, authorities seized a total of
288 plants from two houses with an estimated value of $576,000.

The houses were located about a mile apart off Tanners Mill Road and
Benefield Road. Both were unoccupied at the time of the raids and no
arrests have been made in the Hall County cases. Authorities are
looking for the homeowner, listed as Luis R. Rojas-Argote.

Gwinnett County authorities have arrested eight people, all of whom
were home at the time of the raids. Fayette County sheriff's
officials have rounded up at least 25 people, including the suspected
ringleader, 35-year-old Merquiades Martinez.

Federal prosecution in drug cases can mean longer sentences and no
option of parole.

The use of electricity by the growers to power ultraviolet lights and
ventilation systems in the basement grow rooms may be used against
them in court, Pruitt said.

The growers avoided astronomical power bills and suspicion by tapping
into the main electrical lines, sidestepping residential power meters.

Pruitt said prosecutors have discussed using that power diversion as
a basis for a conspiracy charge.