Marijuana bust called largest in FF history

The seizure of more than 500 marijuana plants from a Fergus Falls residence in late July is being called the largest bust in the city’s history.

A massive grow operation was found in a house along Church Street July 24 after Fergus Falls police and agents with the West Central Minnesota Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at the property. According to police, employees with Otter Tail Power Company were attempting to locate the source of several power outages in the area when they discovered a homemade electric cable running from the transformer to the house.

Inside the home, authorities found 512 marijuana plants in various stages of maturity, said police Capt. Steve Adams. The largest congregation of plants was in the basement, though others were located on the first and second floors, where most of the windows were covered by blinds. Authorities also found equipment including lights, fertilizer, reflectors and fans.

“To my knowledge, this is the largest grow operation we’ve ever seen in the city of Fergus Falls,” Adams said.

Special agent Mark Haberer, who has spent nine years with the drug task force and the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, called the find a “substantial amount.”

“With 512 plants, this is the largest marijuana grow operation I have ever been involved in,” he said.

Authorities are looking for the home’s 35-year-old male tenant, as well as three to four others who may have been involved in the operation. The 35-year-old is wanted on an outstanding warrant on a separate criminal matter; a second warrant will be issued for this incident. Police did not release the suspect’s name Thursday.

The property owner, who lives out of state, does not appear to have known about the grow operation, Adams said.

Authorities have the plants in storage and will begin stripping them of buds and stems today to determine the total weight and value, Adams said. Had all of the plants grown to full maturity, Haberer estimates the find would have been worth $200,000 to $500,000.

The case is under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and will be prosecuted out of the U.S. Attorney General’s Office out of Minneapolis, Adams said. State charges are also pending.

Cases that get federal attention usually involve a large number of plants and may have connections to larger drug networks or gangs, Haberer said.

Authorities did not release details on the seizure until Thursday because of the size of the operation and ensuing investigation, Adams said.

Haberer said he believes this case is consistent with a trend he’s seen out of the Twin Cities: renting property specifically for use as a grow house. No one appears to have been living at the Fergus Falls home, and the amount of traffic suggests sales weren’t taking place at the property.

“Neighbors had noticed more than one person coming and leaving but not a huge group of people,” Haberer said.

Walls of the house were covered with a foil-like material used to trap heat and moisture, he said. Ventilation tubes had been used to direct heat up through the attic and out of the house.

Police had received a report of smoke in the area last winter, Adams said. The officer who responded to the call determined the amount of steam coming out of the house was not unusual for that time of year, he said.