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Bust nets 171 marijuana plants; a 'growing' trend |
Deputies nab two suspects, one gets away; officials see increase in grow houses.
| MARION OAKS - Marion County sheriff's deputies dismantled a marijuana grow house Thursday night containing 171 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of approximately $200,000, and arrested two of three men seen fleeing the area.
The third man, who reportedly was seen discarding a .38-caliber revolver, managed to escape, according to a Sheriff's Office report. | 
evidence - bagged and tagged
| Two of the men - Jose Perez, 59, of Green Acres, and Eliezer Lopez, 25, of West Palm Beach - were arrested on charges of cultivating marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest without violence, according to the Sheriff's Office.
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Officials with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency, who are familiar with the case, said Perez and Lopez are from Cuba. Since the beginning of the year, they said, local drug agents have seen not only a significant increase in marijuana grow houses, but also those arrested increasingly have moved from South Florida to Central Florida.
Agents believe the move is fueled in part by the area's rural atmosphere, which they said acts as cover for illegal activities.
From January to September 2007, agents have seized 2,804 plants worth an estimated $2.9 million. According to officials, it's very expensive to finance, set up and operate grow houses. However, once established and properly maintained, such an operation can be lucrative.
Marijuana typically sells for $500 to $600 a pound. For hydroponically grown marijuana, which has a higher level of potency, the cost can reach $3,000 to $6,000 a pound.
Growers use 1,000-watt light bulbs to serve as light for the plants. With that much heat, more than one air conditioning unit is used to cool the area, and fans are strategically placed to keep air flowing. Before power gets to the home's meter, it is diverted to the grow house. This prevents utility companies from detecting large amounts of power running to one home. Timers are installed in grow houses to regulate light and water.
Deputies had gone to 4675 S.W. 112th Lane on Thursday, at about 8:18 p.m., after receiving a report of a suspicious vehicle. The person making the report said the home may have been burglarized. At the home, deputies saw the windows were painted white, were blocked with foil and had bright light shining around the edges, according to the report. They suspected it could be a marijuana-growing operation.
When a deputy rang the doorbell, they heard a noise from the back of the house. Officials then saw three men running through the backyard into some woods and a helicopter and police dog were called in to help search for them.
Another deputy saw three men leaving the woods on the north side of the house, and Perez and Lopez were apprehended.
Inside the house, investigators say they discovered 171 marijuana plants. The home reportedly had special lighting and watering systems, and the walls were covered with foil-coated foam boards. Almost every room had marijuana plants growing in pots, and water lines had been installed on the floor to water them.
The kitchen area had many large containers of plant food used to fertilize the marijuana, authorities said.
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