16 MARIJUANA GROW HOUSES HAVE BEEN RAIDED IN PAST 10 DAYS IN PORT ST.LUCIE

PORT ST. LUCIE -- Most are from Cuba and the Dominican Republic and
have been living in Port St. Lucie for as long as two years.

In general, they drive expensive vehicles, live in unremarkable or
nice homes with big screen TVs and pricey computer equipment. They
have minor -- if any -- criminal histories in Florida and draw little
attention.

"They've all been nice people," police Sgt. Todd Schrader said.
"They're people you wouldn't mind as neighbors -- other than the grow house."

For they also are all members of the largest marijuana growing
organization in Port St. Lucie's history, police said on Wednesday.

"This is a multimillion-dollar operation," Schrader said. "The level
of organization, we've never seen here in this city."

Schrader and other detectives shared details about the more than 12
people arrested over the past 10 days in connection with the operation.

On Tuesday, police raided two alleged pot farms in the 200 block of
Southwest Twig Avenue and the 6400 block of Northwest Halibut Street.
Including two Lakewood Park homes hit last week by the St. Lucie
County Sheriff's Office, police say they have now shut down 16 of the
organization's grow houses.

Schrader said those arrested likely are low level workers, recruited
through word of mouth, friends or relatives. The operation, which
Schrader described as "organized crime," probably has a number of
layers in a hierarchy over the growers, who likely don't know those at the top.

The growers, who speak Spanish or English and Spanish, are in the
country legally, though they aren't United States citizens, police said.

"They're here on work purposes only," Schrader said. "I don't know
what their work is other than growing marijuana and their bogus jobs
of drywalling, painting, plumbers, taxi cab drivers, truck drivers, students."

Schrader said the most any of them earned legally is $12,000 a year
- -- yet they're living in $350,000 or $400,000 homes and driving
$50,000 vehicles.

Detective Daniel Herrington said some had legitimate jobs for years
before deciding to enter the indoor cannabis cultivation business.

They lived all over the country prior to moving to Port St. Lucie and
harvested the marijuana as many as four times annually, making at
least $100,000 a year.

"They're mostly Cuban and what we've found so far is the Cubans are
basically running it," Schrader said.

Police suspect the marijuana is being "shipped out," perhaps to
another state, though the growers probably don't know the destination.

"We've got limited cooperation," Schrader said. "We're just really
going off paperwork because nobody wants to talk."

The growers, he said, have been pleasant and some even apologetic.

"They know what they're doing is wrong, but they just won't speak
about it," he said. "They've all taken responsibility."

At the Southwest Twig Avenue house on Tuesday, police arrested Jose
M. Carmona, 43, on felony cultivation of cannabis and possession of a
controlled substance charges.

Also Tuesday, police arrested Victor L. Valido, 41, in connection
with an alleged grow house in the 1600 block of Southwest Burlington
Street raided Monday.

"Each time I tell you the end's in sight, it's not in sight,"
Schrader said of the investigation. "We don't know what tomorrow brings."