$1.8 Million Marijuana Garden Lands Minnesota Man in Jail

1,264 Marijuana Plants Were Seized from Inside the Man's House

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that on Monday, a 34-year-old Apple Valley, Minn., man was arrested and jailed for allegedly growing more than 1,200 marijuana plants in his home. Police were tipped off when the electric company responded to a burned out transformer outside the man's home and found he had tapped into the electric line ahead of the meter, apparently to power grow lights for his crop without suspiciously affecting his electrical bill.

According to the Tribune, Dakota County Drug Task Force officers removed 1,264 marijuana plants from the man's house on Saturday. On Monday the man returned to the home and was subsequently arrested; charges are pending.

Although this is a significant bust, it does not rival one of Minnesota's largest marijuana busts that took place about eight years ago. In that incident, federal and state agents raided a Vernon County farm and seized more than 4,000 marijuana plants. The husband and wife team responsible for the marijuana crop were ultimately sentenced to prison for 10 years and three years, respectively.

In December 2005, four individuals were arrested in Washington County, Minn., after approximately 2,400 marijuana plants were seized from three separate houses. This marijuana growing operation was estimated to produce about a million dollars worth of pot a year, according to KARE 11 TV.

According to state public health officials, marijuana remains the most commonly used and readily available illegal drug in Minnesota. The importation of bulk marijuana shipments into the state is controlled by Mexican drug trafficking organizations, but large quantities of marijuana are also readily available from local cultivators, who sell to street-level distributors.