What began as reports of a possible explosion led to the discovery of the biggest indoor marijuana growing operation in recent memory in part of East Texas. It all began about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday [January 27] at a house in the 200-block of Sorrell Road in Upshur County, near Gilmer, Texas.
Witnesses reported hearing a car leaving the scene. Once emergency responders arrived, they began searching the location for anyone who may have been hurt or trapped. But no one was there. Instead, deputies discovered that the home, along with a detached building, was being used to grow marijuana plants. Chief Deputy David Hazel, with the Upshur County, Texas Sheriff’s Office recalls, “What we saw, there were two large rooms, which had in the neighborhood [of] about 65 pots that had clearly just been harvested, the remnant we still green and they weren’t dried up, the stuff that was on the floor from that, Okay? “So, enough stuff was harvested that the remnants left fill about seven trash bags.”
Chief Deputy Hazel says the sound of an explosion may have been caused by the sudden ignition of a leaking propane canister that blew out the windows. Chief Hazel says it appears no one was actually living at the home – in what he describes as a sophisticated, marijuana grow house – with thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment and electronics which powered the location and provided artificial sunlight for the plants.
Chief Hazel says they have not yet calculated the estimated street value of the marijuana seized by authorities - which can vary depending on the source, quality and location where it is sold. “The DEA told us that the simple math is to consider each full grown plant at one pound. So, they had obviously just harvested 65 of those, then would be 65 pounds, plus the 13 that we found inside; you’re talking, you’re getting into a lot of dollars when you’re talking pounds instead of ounces when it comes to marijuana.”
The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office says constable Tim Barnett developed information early after the incident that gave important direction to possible suspects in the illegal operation.
