Firefighter's tip helps police trim large marijuana operation

A firefighter responding to an anonymous report of a possible fire at a suburban home last month found no flames, but something peculiar: a lot of heat escaping from the eaves and frost on the inside of the windows.

The homeowner arrived and said he'd make sure everything was OK, Police Chief Lynne Tellers Bankes said. But the suspicious firefighter related the curious scene to a police investigator, and on Monday authorities busted a marijuana-growing operation in the basement and seized what they believe to be several million dollars worth of pot.

The 27-year-old homeowner was taken into custody, and is facing federal drug charges in what Ramsey County Undersheriff George Altendorfer said was one of the largest pot-growing operations ever in the county. The man's toddler son was with him when he was arrested, and was turned over to child-protection authorities.

Altendorfer said it appeared no one was living in the house, and it would have been difficult: When investigators arrived, it was about 90 degrees inside and there was enough mold to make it uninhabitable. There were streaks on the exterior walls, suggesting extreme heat and condensation inside.

Bankes said the suspect bored a hole through a concrete wall on the south side of the house to tap into the electrical feed and bypass the meter. In the basement, police found about 1,000 plants growing under about 40 umbrella-shaped metal lamp shades.

Altendorfer said the operation's sophistication suggested the pot was high-grade.

"The individuals involved here certainly knew what they were doing," he said.

The bust followed the discovery of similar suburban pot operations in recent years around the Twin Cities areas. As in other cases, authorities said the suspect took advantage of the spacious basement and quiet neighborhood afforded by suburban living.

He was also aware of the trend: Altendorfer said investigators found a newspaper clipping in the kitchen from the Jan. 6, 2008 edition of the Star Tribune. The main headline read: "Do you live next door to a pot palace?"