Illegal pot grow worth millions busted in Oregon

By KANDRA KENT

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    WASHINGTON COUNTY, Oregon (KPTV) — A former horse arena and barn in rural North Plains were among the buildings that covered up a massive illegal marijuana grow with a street value of more than $6.5 million, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office shared details about the drug bust Tuesday, although the sting took place two weeks ago.

Marijuana plants were also growing inside a home on the property off Jackson School Road, bringing the total grow space to roughly 24,000 square feet.

Investigators said they seized more than 5,000 plants, 800 pounds of dried pot and a half million dollars’ worth of grow equipment. They also found $22,000 in cash.

Footage released from the sheriff’s office shows investigators clipping the stems of mature plants and showing the vast number of potted plants filling the space. More video shows bags and bags filled with dried marijuana.

After watching the video, neighbor Jeri Krokum said she was shocked by the sheer size of the operation, but not surprised it existed.

“They had posted no trespassing signs all around the property,” Krokum said. “We were hearing generators 24 hours a day, seven days a week, going all the time.”

Krokum said she had her suspicions that something fishy had been going on ever since the property was purchased in a foreclosure more than a year ago.

First, she noticed there were the strange remodels, like massive amounts of concrete brought in and new ventilation systems installed.

Then she saw people constantly going in and out of the buildings, regular deliveries of large amounts of propane, water being pumped from a pond and odd smells.

“I told my husband – I said, ‘they’re growing marijuana or something over there.’ I don’t know anything about that, but I know you can get permits to do that and it’s legal, but it seemed like they were doing it in a strange way – kind of a hidden way,” Krokum said.

Krokum said she allowed investigators to put a camera on her property about a month ago, when they visited her inquiring about the neighbors.

Two weeks ago, they swarmed the property to serve a search warrant.

“We saw them hauling out really big plants,” Krokum said.

So far there have not been any arrests in the case.

Investigators have not said how many suspects are involved or if they also lived on the property.

County property records show the land and buildings were purchased in November of 2019.

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