OFFICERS BUST COMPLEX DRUG SETUP

It was an elaborate setup, authorities say. Whoever had been
cultivating marijuana plants in the basement of the home in southern
Hall County knew what they were doing.

The operation came to a halt Monday when authorities raided the 4217
Benefield Road home, said Lt. Scott Ware with the Hall County
Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad.

Ware said some 115 marijuana plants, with an estimated value of about
$230,000, were removed from the home off Tanners Mill Road.

"Essentially, the whole basement of this house was dedicated ... to
grow the marijuana," Ware said.

He said nobody was there when authorities entered the home about noon.

It was not clear who owned the home, or who was responsible for the
plants. Ware did not know if neighbors had reported any suspicious
activity there.

Authorities do have one suspect, with Ware adding, "We would hope to
make an arrest out of this case."

Ware said Hall officials acted on a tip from an agency in Winder that
last week had found four houses where marijuana was being growing inside.

At that time, three of the four houses still contained plants, while
those in the fourth had been harvested, he said.

Ware said correspondence found in one of the houses led MANS agents
to the Benefield Road home.

All of the homes had at least one thing in common.

The number of air-conditioning units was "over and above the amount .
it would take to heat and cool a regular house," Ware said.

He did not know how long the plants had been growing, but said the
growth was "well thought out."

"It was a pretty intricate little set up," he said. "I've never seen
one this well done."

Lamps were set up above the plants, with heaters in the basement to
keep everything hot and moist, Ware said.

Whoever was responsible for the operation also had rigged an
irrigation system, which Ware said was set up with water pipes
running throughout the basement floor.

A hose would sprout off each pipe and go into each plant, he said.

It was common in the early 1990s for people to grow marijuana in
their homes and yards. But, Ware said, "We don't get a lot of people
growing pot anymore."