Hundreds of pot plants seized
Police found ‘elaborate’ setup; no one was home.
— Police confiscated TROTWOOD hundreds of marijuana plants Saturday after searching a home in the 700 block of Olive Road.
The discovery was made after officers were dispatched to the home shortly before 11 a.m. on a breaking and entering report.
While checking the unoccupied home, officers found evidence that someone tried to break in through the back door, but they also smelled the strong odor of marijuana emanating from the structure, said Trotwood police Sgt. Brandon Holbrook.
Police roped off the property with crime scene tape and obtained a warrant to search the house.
Holbrook said officers entered the home and discovered a “very elaborate” grow operation, with heavily fortified windows and entrypoints. Holbrook said an estimated 500 plants of various sizes were found in the basement.
Undercover officers removed the plants, lights and other materials to the back yard and processed the scene.
Investigators left a message for the homeowner, Holbrook said, but there were no suspects as of Saturday evening.
“We don’t know if this is a rental or not,” he said. “There are signs that someone had been staying there periodically.”
Neighbors said the home had recently been purchased.
Montgomery County property records show the home was purchased from a bank in August 2011 for $22,500 by Joshua McIntosh.