cannabisnews.com: 2 Charged in a High-Tech Marijuana Ring 





2 Charged in a High-Tech Marijuana Ring 
Posted by FoM on January 19, 2000 at 22:17:07 PT
By John T. McQuiston
Source: New York Times
The most potent and expensive marijuana available recently in the New York metropolitan region was grown, not in the hills of Central or South America, but in an industrial park on Long Island, law enforcement officials said today. They announced the arrest of two men who, they said, used high-technology hydroponics to grow the drug, without paying their electricity bill. 
Investigators said the operation, which illegally tapped into power lines, used high-intensity growing lamps attached to timers, aluminum reflectors, carbon dioxide generators and potent water-soluble fertilizers in a closed, controlled environment. They said the operation was the wave of the future in the illegal production and marketing of marijuana, and that the resulting product was highly sought by users because it created a quick and intense high. Two Long Island men, Francisco Dandraia, 46, of Centerport, and Frank Salinas, 33, of Dix Hills, were arrested Friday and charged with criminal possession of marijuana in the first degree. They also face charges of theft for stealing electricity from the Long Island Power Authority. The police declined to give extensive information about the suspects because of the continuing investigation and a pending grand jury proceeding. They said both men were born and raised on Long Island and that they appeared to be well informed about running a sophisticated and well-financed hydroponic operation, and that others might be involved. The so-called connoisseur's cannabis sold for $5,000 a pound, nearly five times the street price for regular marijuana, officials said. The Suffolk County district attorney, James M. Catterson, said the plants were carefully nurtured in two nondescript cinderblock warehouses in an industrial park in Holbrook. Investigators estimated that the two men were earning $250,000 a month selling the plants. The roots of the plants were never soiled by ordinary dirt, but grew in hydroponic tanks holding water and special fertilizers. High-intensity, 1,000-watt halide growing lamps that produced a lot of heat helped the plants to mature in four to six weeks instead of several months. The lights also helped the plants produce enormous flowers and seed pods that were carefully harvested and prepared for sale, Mr. Catterson said. Detectives and law enforcement officials said they had become aware, during the last several months, that a high-grade marijuana was on the streets in New York City, particularly in Queens. Tests showed the marijuana was very potent, more potent than the marijuana arriving from Central and South America, said Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney. Mr. Brown said investigators determined that the new product was coming from central Long Island and was being grown in a warehouse. He declined to say what or who tipped police to the operation. With the help of a helicopter fitted with a heat-seeking device such as those used in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf war, a team of Suffolk County and New York City law enforcement officials were able to locate the heat coming from the two warehouses in Holbrook at 70-1 and 70-2 Knickerbocker Avenue, just south of Exit 59 of the Long Island Expressway, next to Long Island MacArthur Airport and 45 miles east of midtown Manhattan. While extensive steps had been taken to conceal the operation, the heat that was coming from the warehouses could not be hidden, especially since the ductwork that carried warm, humid air throughout the growing rooms vented it to the outside of the buildings. The high-intensity growing lamps added to the heat, using what detectives described as a tremendous amount of electricity. Mr. Catterson said the two men obtained electric power by splicing into LIPA cables that fed the entire industrial park. The men did so, detectives said, not so much to save on operating costs, but in an effort to conceal their operation, fearing that a huge electric bill would draw the attention of the power authority and possibly the police. The authority estimated that the men stole electricity worth $50,000 during the 13 months that the warehouses were in operation. The two men were arraigned on Friday in Suffolk Criminal Court, and spent the three-day holiday weekend in the Suffolk County Jail. Mr. Catterson said Mr. Salinas was being held in $250,00 cash bail and Mr. Dandraia in $100,000 cash bail. If convicted, he said, each man could face 5 to 15 years in jail. Hauppauge, N.Y., Jan. 18 Published: January 19, 2000Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company Related Article:Men Stole Electricity To Grow Pot - 1/18/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4368.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on January 20, 2000 at 19:25:22 PT
It won't happen without you!
How much longer are you willing to hide like a frightened little rabbit, thinking you're safe... until they let the ferrets after you? They will find you, you know. They've got all the resources and money they need. There's simply too much incentive: easy money for snitches to buy from you and then turn you in. Electric company meter-men passing on high electrical use records to their fascist boss, who sends them on to the local gendarmerie. Hydro store proprietors who moonlight for the DEA.The deck is stacked against you, now. The only way to fight back is to become active. Yeah, there's a price. You become 'noticed'. So, you have to be 'clean'. Are you willing to give up your favorite indulgence for a while, to re-secure a liberty for life?Or, are you going to sit back, toke up, and let someone do what you should be doing? It's up to you.
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Comment #1 posted by strangebud on January 20, 2000 at 11:44:02 PT:
the muvement
So it looks like this type of operation can, and was, done. And, obviously, the demand for _high_ grade cannabis is present among those of us (people who keep it real, those who know whats up, those people who, with the nod of the head, acknowledge the truth) who consider themselves connoiseurs. Mourn these prohibition heroes. Save, save, save your money-get a McJob if that is what it takes- andstart the operation you have been dreaming of. Learn from the mistakes these gentlemen made, minimize your risks, and supply *your* neighborhood with vitamin D_ank.One day, the drug war will be over, we will emerge from our caves and warehouses, and won't *that* be a grand celebration?  
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