ABANDONED MARIJUANA LAB UNCOVERED

JERSEY CITY -- Police on Friday found the remains of a marijuana-growing
operation they say has produced at least $3.5 million worth of the drug
since February.

Rows of white pipes and rubber tubes dripping water and a green nutrient
solution were stored in a warehouse's back room next to trash bags of dead
marijuana leaves and plant stakes.

The warehouse was stocked with humidifiers, fans, and a soil mixture.

Police Sgt. John Gillen said 360, 4-foot-tall plants had grown in the
warehouse since two men leased the space in February. The men had begun
setting up a second lab in a building next door, he said.

An informant tipped police off to the warehouse Friday afternoon, but by
the time they arrived, all the plants were gone.

Gillen said the plants probably produced $2,000 to $8,000 each of marijuana
in a two-month growing cycle. He said the men likely sold $3.5 million
worth of the drug.

The space was leased by Henry Stencato of A&S Corp., which Gillen said was
a phony name. Police were dusting the hoods of lamps used in the lab for
fingerprints, he said. They had no suspects.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)