POLK DEPUTIES SEIZE 500 MARIJUANA PLANTS IN RAID

[Candace J. Samolinski covers law enforcement in Polk County and can be
reached at (941)683-6538 or csamolinski@tampatrib.com]

HAINES CITY - An Auburndale man was arrested Saturday after a big drug bust
Friday night by Polk sheriff's deputies.

At first glance it looked like a sophisticated nursery where an attentive
gardener lovingly cared for acres of greenery. But the smell gave it away.

The odor from more than 500 marijuana plants, ranging in size from 8 inches
to 5 feet tall, burned the eyes and throats of dozens of Polk County
sheriff's deputies who confiscated them late Friday night.

The seizure at 5050 E. Baker Dairy Road northeast of Haines City came
during the county's largest drug bust, sheriff's officials said. The plants
were being cultivated using a system that officials said was the most
sophisticated they had ever seen.

``I've been in drug enforcement for 15 years,'' said Capt. Gary Hester, who
heads up the special investigations bureau. ``You could tell by this
operation that they had experience in this business, and I imagine it was
pretty profitable for them. Maybe to the tune of $1 million.''

The marijuana operation was housed in a barn, shed and refrigeration
trailer, Hester said. It used track lighting systems to aid in the growing
process, automatic watering and fertilizing systems, and two rooms for
drying and packaging the drugs.

When deputies arrived Friday, they found Rocky Neil Shirey, 36, of
Auburndale, sheriff's spokeswoman Sonya Dodds said. He was arrested
Saturday and charged with trafficking, conspiring to traffic and
cultivating marijuana over 50 pounds.

Police don't know how long the system was in place, Hester said. They
learned about it through a confidential informant.

The operators had gone to great lengths to prevent the grow lights from
being seen by thermal imaging used during helicopter patrols, Hester said.

``Instead of a tin roof on the barn, they had solar panels that gave the
plants light all day,'' he said. ``And they had the trailer placed next to
the house. So if something was picked up by the helicopter pilot, he might
think the light was coming from people living inside the house.''

Deputies are trying to find out who owns the property, Col. Grady Judd
said. More arrests are expected in connection with the operation.

Shirey, of 605 Walnut St., was being held in the Polk County Jail with bail
set at $250,000.