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Photograph from 4411 Poplar Way. Courtesy of Longview Police Department

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Police say seized marijuana worth nearly $3 million

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 7:59 AM PDT

By Leslie Slape

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The street value of the marijuana seized in Longview over the weekend comes to nearly $3 million, based on figures released by the Longview Street Crimes Unit.

Detectives seized a total of 1,036 growing marijuana plants, 87 1/2 pounds of processed marijuana, eight bundles of previously harvested marijuana stalks and 444 other marijuana stalks and root balls from harvested plants from 1221 Spruce Street and 4411 Poplar Way on Saturday and Sunday respectively, according to news releases from the Street Crimes Unit.

Depending on quality, marijuana sells for between $2,500 and $4,000 a pound, Sgt. Steve Rehaume said Saturday. A mature plant can yield a pound of marijuana, he said. Multiplying the pounds of processed marijuana and potential marijuana from growing plants by the lower figure, the estimated street value comes to $2,808,750.

Detectives said both residences diverted electric power in the same manner. Large grids of electrical transformers with timers were used to divert and use energy before it reached the home’s meter and could be billed by Cowlitz PUD.

Both homes were purchased in 2007 by Thanh H. Tran of Federal Way, Wash.

The man whom police arrested Sunday morning in Kelso, Van Dat Nguyen, 49, is wanted by British Columbia police for two counts of felony production of a controlled substance and trafficking, Rehaume said in a news release.

He said Nguyen is a Vietnamese native who is a citizen of Sweden.

Nguyen’s visa to the United States expired in March, according to a probable court statement filed in Cowlitz Superior Court on Monday.

For now, Canada is not trying to extradite him to face the British Columbia charges, the statement said.

At the time of Nguyen’s arrest, police reported finding 27 grams of marijuana buds — the most potent part of the plant — under a car seat.

A reporter for a newspaper in Stockholm, Sweden, said Nguyen lives in Oredro, Sweden, and has four children, the youngest being 12 years old.

Monday, the reporter said he spoke with Nguyen’s 20-year-old daughter, who told Julander she was shocked to hear her father had been arrested in America.

“She didn’t seem to have very much contact with her father,” he said. “She didn’t know anything about this. She was a bit shocked. ... She was going to contact her mother.”

He said Nguyen has apparently been in the United States “for some time” and his daughter didn’t know much about him.

Nguyen is being held without bail in the Cowlitz County Jail on suspicion of two counts of manufacturing marijuana and one count of marijuana possession with intent to deliver. Authorities from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on Nguyen.

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Zucchini wrote on Jun 10, 2008 6:41 AM:

" 3 Million bucks will buy a lot of gas - even at todays prices. "

Aud wrote on Jun 10, 2008 9:02 AM:

" gas, grass or...and something about a cost...lol
ya gotta see the humor in all of this... "

Jackal wrote on Jun 10, 2008 9:08 AM:

" ...Well, I'm glad the pot's off the streets now. Funny thing is, we probably dealt a serious blow to the economy with this bust. $3 million? "

CONCERENED wrote on Jun 10, 2008 9:36 AM:

" I"m very glad to see the local police doing a great job on these kinds of stories, thank god is wasnt near a school, sad that it wasnt a huge meth bust, but, you gotta start somewhere's , hats off to the local police dept, keep up the good job "

AK-47 wrote on Jun 10, 2008 9:59 AM:

" I am glad law enforcement is keeping us safe from the menace and scourge of the dreaded marijuana. There are many ways the general public self-medicates with substances and we wouldn't want a drug out on the street that causes people to calm down and raid the fridge. Truth is a totally clean society from all substance would be great, but it is not realistic. For all the crap on the street, marijuana is the least of our worries. Now why not step it up a bit gentlemen and go after the meth-houses that pump lethal toxins into our children exchanging their innocence for addiction that actually kills them, or the flop houses where underage kids hang out with old creeps to do hard drugs, and the alcohol abuse epidemic in America that kills 100,000 people each year. These are the real substance abuse problems that need to really be sought after. So thanks really for keeping us safe, but its time you went after the real problems. Maybe if the task force budget was increased so that it was economically possible to go after meth-houses, instead of the twenty dollars in gas and dog food it takes to raid a pot farm. Nice catch boys, but it time to go after the really bad guys and quit fooling around with these farmers who are harvesting one of the oldest crops known to mankind. "

CRhick88 wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:21 AM:

" No offense to anyone, but POT is the least of our worries. The police should be focusing on and busting METH operations. That is the problem in this community. To me, Pot is not a problem, and No, I am not a user. Personally though, I agree with Jackal. We all know that there is a "Pot economy" and this bust probably really hurt it. "

TDN Bad Boy wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:21 AM:

" People like AK-47 are so out of they are funny. Smoking too much there AK-47? So you are OK with these guys stealing electricity from a public municipality? By the way you pay for every watt they steal. That doesn't bother you? It doesn't bother you that these drugs could wind up in elementary schools? That doesn't bother you? You are too wacked out for me. "

Kelso Guy wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:55 AM:

" TBB, I pay for the electricity I use, no less, no more. As far as your elementary school comment? Spray paint and gasoline could wind up in elementary schools....people don't push pot, pot sells itself. People (and kids are people) will continue to supplement themselves because society tells them they're not enough. "

rjpeters wrote on Jun 10, 2008 1:05 PM:

" I hope the LPD conficates the homes like they do cars when used for illegal
drug use. "

Atrucker wrote on Jun 10, 2008 1:08 PM:

" Pretty obvious , WAY to many stoners in our little community. But has been like that for years ,so why change now. This little bust will not put a dent in any thing . Lots of pot comes out of Portland and the cops know that too. "

DaCoug wrote on Jun 10, 2008 1:22 PM:

" This bust is gonna destroy the late night fast food economy. Without the munchies there is no need for late night tacobell or Jack in the box runs. "

AK-47 wrote on Jun 10, 2008 4:55 PM:

" Thanks for putting words in my mouth, "Bad Boy", Truth is I am not a user of marijuana or any other illicit drug for that matter. I am actually quite educated, and you? I just think enough is enough, and the tax dollars that I also pay, aside from stolen electricity, goes to fund a system that focuses on the little problems to make quota instead of taking out the really bad guys. And I have children, so no I don't want any drugs making their way into schools. Drugs and substances will make their normal rounds anyway, and I would rather see a high-school kid laughing at an am/pm raiding the burger fixings, then skinny and beady eyed, scared, and stealing scrap metal to get more meth. So yeah, I guess some things do bother me that you mentioned. Also what really bothers me is people who read or hear something and insinuate another, and put words in peoples mouths because they can't comprehend anything than their own selective attention deficit. So to reiterate, my initial point "Quit wasting time and money on the little problems and go after the really bad guys". I realize this is a little harsh, so I would like to say, with sincerity, thank you LPD for keeping us safe, good job getting the bad guy, now go get the meth dealers and child molesters. And Bad Boy, get informed and educated, maybe take a class on active listening. "

LTR07 wrote on Jun 10, 2008 5:46 PM:

" Who cares about pot, it should be legal anyways, it doesn't hurt anyone. Why waste all this money and time on these bust? Focus on the real drugs, you know the ones that destroy peoples lives and our communities. I mean whats so bad about pot? It has 3 side affects hungry, happy and sleepy thats it. So LPD go do some real police work for once. "

chicklet wrote on Jun 10, 2008 6:06 PM:

" AK47, I dont know who you are, but I like you. You said everything that I have said everytime I post to one of these stories. I will say it again. I would rather live next door to potheads than tweakers anyday! I understand that the police are doing their jobs, but there are bigger baddies out there that they need to worry about, not a bunch of starving, lazy, happy people whos only thought at the moment is "has it been 30 minutes yet, dude" "

bucketball wrote on Jun 10, 2008 7:00 PM:

" Legalize and tax it!!! "

viper wrote on Jun 10, 2008 7:27 PM:

" they probaly spent 5 million trying to bust these farmers ,the last thing we need in our town is happy people who like the fridge and are fun to talk to
get real Lpd is this the best you can do Really !Viper "

SPARROW wrote on Jun 10, 2008 8:31 PM:

" RE chicklet: Sounds like some of you pro marijuana non users are a little slow in understanding the impact of this bust. It does not really matter what the illegal product is or what it is used for. The people responsible for this are doing it for financial gain and are just as dangerous as if it were gold bullion or ammunition. Even housing stolen property at a location makes the location a target for further activity and I don't think you would want that next door to you either. It's the element of people involved in this type of crime that puts others in great danger being exposed to the presence of armed and dangerous people living near you, fearing you might be looking over the fence and witness something they don't want you to see could be an innocent moment that ends in tragedy. Get a grip, these people are not your local potheads, they were a part of organized crime that exists in our community, a reasonably big part. Organized crime can be much more serious of problem than any drug addict acting out. I don't think this group had the smartest leadership and organization going for them, or they would not have been caught as they were. Maybe some of the leaders in this organization are sampeling the product, thus being the reason for this ending to their story. "

Kelso Guy wrote on Jun 11, 2008 7:02 AM:

" That's a good point Sparrow, this wasn't your typical home grow op, these guys had an elaborate system and there was a lot (I doubt 3 million - they always over estimate) of money involved. "

TDN Bad Boy wrote on Jun 11, 2008 12:01 PM:

" AK-47, perhaps it is you who needs the education. Regardless of what any of the pro-grass people say, there is ample research to show that pot is a pre-cursor to heavier drug use, a lower quality of life, education, etc., and the possibility of being involved in a felony. Studies on death row inmates have shown that pot was the first drug used (I am guessing they probably don't consider alcohol a drug in that sense) and that pot use led to heavier drugs and the heavier drugs contributed to their crimes. So please, when you talk about facts, use facts. Now, not everyone who uses pot is going to be a criminal, but the reason it is important to go after the pot growers is that some people who use it progress down a road of destruction. Yes I know alcohol does the same, yadayadayada. I am against alcohol use also but the majority is not, so I have to go by their laws. The vast majority is against pot. So taking this pot off the streets may in fact slow someone's criminal progression. There is no reason for the police to turn their eyes away from this activity. Arrest the pot heads and the meth users, makers and sellers. Round them all up and our society will be a better place. "

Dahlaw wrote on Jun 11, 2008 4:24 PM:

" The story said 1033 marijuana plants were seized. Each plant produces about 1+ pounds of marijuana every two months. A pound of marijuana, say low end, $2500. 1033 x 2500 = 2,582,500. Times that by 6 and you get 15,495,000. So in one year, the operation could produce $15,495,000 worth of marijuana. Great job LPD!!!! "

bucketball wrote on Jun 11, 2008 6:23 PM:

" Sparrow, your comment seems logical but I never hear of any marijuana related murders. TDN Bad Boy, when they say marijuana is a gateway drug that is pure propaganda like those movies and commercials they used to show school children like "little Jimmy hitting his mother with a frying pan over her head killing her because he was stoned". Now most of us know that stoners are not out there killing their mothers with frying pans. That vast majority is probably not against pot but they will never take a poll to find out for sure. It's only illegal because it's too easy to grow, therefore the government wouldn't generate much tax from it and probably lose some tax money from alcohol sales along with it. They tried a long time ago to ban alcohol but everyone started bootlegging it so they decided to legalize it and tax it. Dahlaw, I do believe marijuana plants only produce one time, at most maybe 1/4 pound is grown from one plant. They also always over estimate what the drug busts are worth usually by at least 2-fold. "

Dahlaw wrote on Jun 11, 2008 7:19 PM:

" Each marijuana plant will produce one time. However, they will start a new "crop" immediately after harvesting the old ones, if not before. 2 months later they are repeating the process. The plants will produce 1-1.5 pounds of marijuana. Obviously the better the equipment the better the product. Sounded like this one was quite elaborate. On top of the bud, many growers will harvest the leaf and sell it, at a much lower price of course. "

kitten wrote on Jun 11, 2008 8:23 PM:

" Bad Boy, Saying that pot is a gateway for drug addiction is like saying a cookie is responsible for obesity or a deck of cards is the reason for gambling addicts. Many, many people use this drug to relax but would never admit it because of the fact that it is illegal. Many also use it for medical reasons, prescribed or not. How I wish my mother would have had the use of it when she was dying of ovarian cancer and trying to force herself to eat after having chemo.

Also the amount of money that could be saved by legalizing this could be used for so many other things. By the way, I am not a user. I tried it once and it was not my thing but I have never heard of as many bad stories stemming from use of this drug as from alchol use. "

Leslie Slape wrote on Jun 15, 2008 2:32 PM:

" To bucketball: Authorities in British Columbia, Canada, where the organized crime-run grow houses first appeared, estimate that one out of every eight homicides in the province is a grow-related murder. "

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