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GADawg
Antiprohibitionist
Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 20
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 Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:51 pm Post subject: Underground Cave with House on top with escape hatch |
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http://budzsack.com/pop%20culture/weed/
http://www.ssqq.com/archive/vinlin19.htm
| Quote: | | This is how they grow it in Tennessee . This grow was underneath a house in a cave. The entrance was through a secret hydraulic door in the garage that led to a concrete ramp that went about 50 yards into the ground. Inside the cave was living quarters and a secret escape hatch that led you through a tunnel that exited via another hydraulic door that opened up a rock on the outside. It was very elaborate. The set up allowed them to harvest every 60 days which resulted in multi-million dollar sales. One of the guys busted was living in a house on the water in FL and had a nice yacht. One of the agents here in Nashville worked on this for 5 years before the warrant was finally served in December. |
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smokeablunt420
Civil Libertarian
Joined: 12 Jul 2008
Posts: 167
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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| That is fuckin sweet |
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shortyflow
M.I.A.M.I
Joined: 24 Apr 2008
Posts: 587
Location: Porter Pot in Brazil
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Real nice setup. Although how did this guy get busted if it was so top secret? |
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GADawg
Antiprohibitionist
Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 20
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:55 am Post subject: |
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from
http://www.ssqq.com/archive/vinlin19.htm
| Quote: |
SO HOW DID THEY GET CAUGHT?
This place was a modern fortress. In addition to the secret entrance and the secret escape hatch, there were surveillance cameras everywhere. With such a sophisticated and well-hidden operation, surely you wonder how did these villains ever got caught?
I wondered the same thing. In October 2006 my friend Gary Richardson sent me an email that contained all the pictures listed above. The pictures had captions included, but there was no story that accompanied the pictures. I wondered where the Pot Farm was located and what the story was. I asked Gary if he knew anything, but he replied he didn't know the story behind it.
I loved the pictures! But without the story, my imagination was going wild. What could possibly have tripped up such a terrific operation? Where did they make their mistake?
Unable to be satisfied with just the pictures, I decided to give the Internet and Google a try. I had one very big clue: the first picture said "a house in Tennessee." So I typed in "marijuana bust tennessee". Within seconds, I had the story. Isn't Google incredible?
Now I was able to learn how they got caught. I will give you the answer in a moment, but first see if you can guess:
A truck carrying marijuana got pulled over by State Police.
Electrical disruptions in the area made officials suspicious.
Husband cheated on wife and wife turned him in for revenge.
Argument about how to split the money turned one man into a rat.
Putting too much cash in one bank made a bank official suspicious.
A Mexican farm worker hired to help harvest the crop tipped the authorities.
A dealer got caught and pointed the finger up the chain to save his own neck.
A nearby neighbor was curious to learn why no one seemed to live in the house.
A huge infrared signature gave them away. The heat alone coming out from the ventilation system would appear on any thermal imaging device.
Are you ready for the answer? If you guessed "Electrical Power Disruptions", then go to the head of the class. Yes, suspicious fluctuations in the area's electricity led to their downfall. Personally, I wouldn't have guessed this in a thousand years!
The men started stealing electricity from the local power lines to supply their fortress. They spliced into wires and caused power disruptions to the local area. Supervisors at the local power company were losing power somewhere and decided to look into it.
Back when Fred Strunk and company were building their invisible fort, the local electric company was asked to install a much larger transformer than usually required by a residence. But once the growing operation began, Fred and his gang found to their dismay they still did not have enough electrical power to operate the grow lamps required to raise 1,000 marijuana plants at a time.
They were afraid to ask the electric company to install more power since this would be a very suspicious request without a "reason".
Afraid to risk exposure by making a second request, this left them with two choices: reduce the size of their operation or steal the needed electricity. They chose the latter path. The men spliced into the Tri-County Electric line and began to steal electricity.
The huge thirst for electricity proved to be their downfall. The electricity company detected that a large amount of electricity was disappearing. Since there was no simple answer to account for the problem, the company had to track the problem down.
Investigators eventually discovered the illegal splices and alerted the police.
(RICK ARCHER'S NOTE ONE: I wish I could be more specific with the details about how they got caught. As I previously mentioned, I have absolutely no direct connection to this story at all. Everything I report is something I gained from research on the Internet. I am very curious myself to learn more details. I must have read through a dozen different stories on the Internet and what I have shared with you is all I could find out.
For a while, I wondered why the articles were so were vague when discussing how the police tracked Fred down. After all, the same stories gave a thorough description of Fred's punishment. After giving it some thought, I decided that the lack of information was deliberate. Most of the articles I read were from Tennessee newspapers.
Since the newspaper articles about Fred's Pot Bust were written from interviews with Law Enforcement, I suppose the police didn't want to be too candid about how they got onto to his trail and take the chance that other potential bad guys might learn from Fred's mistake.)
(RICK ARCHER'S NOTE TWO: In April 2008, I received an email that answers some of the questions I raised above. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the email, but my gut feeling is that this account is correct. I appreciate the help!)
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DOWNFALL OF THE POT FARM
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 9:13 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: Pot farm information
"I received your page in an email and have more information for you.
My brothers and I hunt just outside of Hartsville, TN (near Trousdale) and one of my brothers lives there. The story from my brother, who knows many people up there, is that an electric company official went to the property to investigate the power spike. He went to the front gate. Yes, the geniuses had an "estate" gate that you would imagine would be at the front of a mansion. The official could not raise anyone from the elaborate intercom system and hopped the side fence. He went to the house; found that there was nothing inside. The idiots didn't even put up heavy curtains or such to hide the vacant nature of the home. When the official was looking in the window someone came out of the woods with a shotgun and told him to get off of the property. Now, they may not be the most intelligent people in the world, but if you are doing something illegal, wouldn't you try to make the official leave without pissing him off? Well, you guessed it; the official went to the police.
My brothers and I have talked about this for a few years, and, being the stereotypical 'Monday morning quarterbacks", would have some other LEGAL operation going to account for the power spike and have some other explanation: small factory, brewery, computer server bank that could be turned off and on…
Also, a few more points: They found a dead neighbor a few months before the bust. It is thought that one of the escape hatches came out onto his property and the victim encountered one of the pot farmers. A few days after that they found two dead immigrants on outlying properties. It is thought that the pot farmers were tying up loose ends.
I hope this gives you more information."
December 2006: Dixon Springs “Drug Cave” house burns
Macon Country Times
Jerry Greenway
State and local authorities are investigating a Tuesday night, December 5 fire that destroyed a $1 million gated A-frame house in the Cato community of Trousdale County. Arson was strongly suspected in the 11 p.m. blaze, which brought firefighters from both Hartsville and Riddleton to the scene, and to the scene of a second fire which broke out at the same time and in the same general area, less than a mile from the Macon-Trousdale county line.
The resort-like home, located at 2125 Dixon Creek Road, hid an entrance to a sophisticated underground marijuana growing operation whose owner was arrested in December 2005. Authorities said a second home, located just a half mile away, also burned at about the same time Tuesday, pointing even more strongly to arson as the probable cause.
Metro Hartsville Sheriff's chief deputy Waylon Cothron said the state Fire Marshall and several other law enforcement agencies were investigating the cause of the fires.
The second fire, also called in at about 11 p.m., destroyed a vacant home undergoing renovation on the Scanty Branch Road. Formerly the residence of the late Edison Cornwell, the house which burned belonged to Raydean Gregory, according to Jerry Richmond of Hartsville radio station WTNK. “They'd been working on the house, thinking about putting in new windows, stuff like that,” said Richmond. “The shame of it is there was an old abandoned house that needed to be burned right next to the good house that was destroyed.”
“Obviously it was determined to be acts of arson because we had two unoccupied houses within a half mile of each other that burned at the same time,” Chief Cothron said.
The lavish, gated home, which had been confiscated by the state, had been used by Fred Strunk, 63, of Florida and two other men, Brian Gibson and Greg Compton to hide a large “pot cave” equipped with artificial lighting and irrigation system. The elaborate operation included an office and bunk room which could sleep eight, and escape hatches that could have been used to elude law enforcement.
The drug operation was one of the largest found in Tennessee, with capacity to grow as many as 800 marijuana plants and was alleged to have produced millions of dollars in illegal proceeds. Strunk pleaded guilty in Wilson County Criminal Court last summer to charges of manufacture of marijuana, money laundering and theft. Strunk had been lodged in the Macon County Jail for the period of time before his trial.
The other two men arrested with Strunk are also now serving time in connection with the crimes. The property in Trousdale County, along with boats, a van and other property in Florida, were also seized by the state and confiscated when Strunk was arrested.
“We deal with arson in this business on a regular basis,” said Assistant District Attorney David Durham, “Sometimes there is no motive or could simply be an act of vandalism. It could be a conspiracy. It could be a number of different things,” Durham said.
Cave that once housed pot sold to cheesemaker
New usage to be 'tasty in a legal way,' representative in $285,000 deal says
updated 10:47 p.m. CT, Tues., Dec. 11, 2007
HARTSVILLE, Tenn. - A home built above a large cave that once housed a sophisticated underground marijuana operation may have a delicious — and legal — future.
Authorities seized the home in 2005 after finding more than 850 marijuana plants growing under lights in two secured, 100-yard-long underground rooms connected to the home.
“Everything was just perfect. Look at the craftsmanship,” auctioneer Pete Scruggs said of the marijuana operation in the natural cave about 45 miles northeast of Nashville.
Roth Kase USA Ltd., a Wisconsin-based maker of European-style cheeses, won a court-ordered auction of the property Saturday with a bid of $285,000. The company’s auction representative, Chuck Olson, hinted about the future of the cave after he was named the winner.
He said the plan is to “make money,” and the cave’s new operation will be legal “in a tasty way.” Caves, with their consistent cool temperatures and humidity, have long been used to age cheeses.
Fred Strunk, the previous owner of the home, was sentenced to 18 years in prison last year on charges of growing marijuana, money laundering and theft. |
So be sure to check out:
http://www.ssqq.com/archive/vinlin19.htm
http://www.cultural-baggage.com/tutruth/The%20Tennessee%20Pot%20Cave.pdf
http://budzsack.com/pop%20culture/weed/
for more photos and information like how they brought in hispanic workers blindfolded to work there. |
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High Man
Activist
Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 236
Location: Space
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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They should have used gas/biodisel generators or looked into solar or other alternative forms of energy.
If they knew enough how to splice into electrical wires and steal electricity then they should have looked into other ways to garner electrical power without stealing from the grid.
They got greedy and were asking for it.
Like Barry says you shouldn't be stealing from the electrical company... Despite any ethical concerns, the main issue is they will catch up with you and nail you for it.
I have heard of many grow caves in Tennessee, but yes, I saw this one in the news, one of the few they will surely ever get. |
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shortyflow
M.I.A.M.I
Joined: 24 Apr 2008
Posts: 587
Location: Porter Pot in Brazil
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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| I guessed the wife turned him in for cheating. Sounds like something my girl would do. |
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Joe
Activist
Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 268
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:53 am Post subject: |
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That's a couple years old now, but, some notes on that:
Tennessee was not only an extremely inefficient op (6 sq ft of space per 1 sq ft of plant for starters.....),but should also remember how LE works numbers for publicity.....
1.Scope of investigation appeared initially, but quickly disappeared from all reports (when it happened).
Investigation not as quick and simple as they make it appear, with their initial interest starting when it was built.
That was a 6 year investigation I believe. (Possibly 5, but, I believe 6....)
(Personally, they should have shut down when they started blowing transformers....and tossed money into another, and picked back up on that one later on....)
I tell people all the time, review cases....Until they do....they never really understand what I mean.
This is one from last year
In the middle of the page, one will find a link entitled "Application and affidavit for search warrant", which is a textbook example of everything not to do...from operations, through finances...Everything....
Very good case for people to review.......covers almost every aspect which might arise.....(and easy for most to see upon reading how it could have all been prevented....) |
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psykl0n
Activist
Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 207
Location: BACOIMA!!!
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:09 am Post subject: |
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| Those guys should have watched Barry's DVD and taken his advice! |
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socrateez
Stoned Philosopher
Joined: 01 Feb 2008
Posts: 1226
Location: I'm the person to your right.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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Nice! I love secret passages and hidden compartments!
What about this guy's comment. 
| Quote: |
"We've done such a good job above ground that these growers have had to go underground," Simmons said. |
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shortyflow
M.I.A.M.I
Joined: 24 Apr 2008
Posts: 587
Location: Porter Pot in Brazil
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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| If they were doing such a good job. then there should be noone to grow underground. Whata putts |
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