Firefighters find secret stash in basement

[bman1]

WADSWORTH, Ohio - Firefighters dousing a fire in a new home were confused when the man they thought was the owner suddenly left - until they found $700,000 worth of marijuana plants in the basement, officials said.

"It seemed so strange to me" that the man left, said Wadsworth Fire Chief Ralph Copley. "If it were my home burning, I'd want to be there."

After firefighters extinguished the fire, which started in the attic early Friday morning, they found 239 marijuana plants filling one-fourth of the basement, which was wired throughout for indoor plant growing, authorities said.

"It was unreal," Copley said. "In 24 years, I've never seen a fire quite like that."

The Medina County Drug Task Force and firefighters on Friday confiscated items from the home, including peat moss, 1,000-watt bulbs and large reflecting discs. The basement had no fire damage.

The marijuana-cultivating system was wired to the home's electrical system in a way that bypassed the meter, said Michael Barnhardt, acting director of the task force. Such wiring would help a grower avoid the large electric bills that clue in investigators, he said.

Copley said the cause of the fire was unknown, but it did not appear to be related to the marijuana operation or electrical wiring. It caused about $150,000 in damage.

The home, bought for $229,000 less than one month ago, is owned by a Lan Le. There is no telephone listing under that name in the northeast Ohio city 30 miles south of Cleveland.
Information from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.com

[bman1]

It sounds like the guy got away, "He suddenly left." It also seems like the house was under a fake name. what a lose though.

[Alfa]

$700.000 devided by 239 plants is a value of $2.929 per plant. That's almost 1.000 times the real worth of a plant. The 'stash' is hardly worth $ 1.000. The true value lies in the labour building all that and the cost of the equipment. These officials should be reprimended for these lies.

[Herbal Remedy]

swim thinks this happened like 2 towns over from his area, he hasnt heard anything saying the guy was caught so sounds like he's hiding out alright. Swim hopes this doesnt bring about any shortages in the near future, with 4/20 comming up in a few days....

[IHrtHalucingens]

"It was unreal," Copley said. "In 24 years, I've never seen a fire quite like that."

That my fine sir is the beauty of weed. My guess is the fire spread to the basement and was getting him high.

[a-SalviaLover]

They always use prices tat are far away from reality. In Bulgaria courts always assume prices that are several times higher than street prices. This is very bad especially if tere is evidence that the person was selling, although it looks very funny to everyone who is even little in this things.