Federal and local authorities raided a marijuana plantation northwest of Fort Collins, toppling what they described as a million-dollar operation that housed thousands of potent plants.
“This is real high-quality stuff,” Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said. “This, on the street, goes for $400 an ounce — it’s primo.”
The complex, indoor marijuana farm near Laporte featured a hydroponic system that was powered by a 20,000-watt diesel generator, authorities said. The generator, they said, was buried underground and beneath a horse stable to trap the noise and keep from arousing the suspicion of neighbors.
“It’s the most sophisticated grow I’ve ever seen,” said Eloise Campanella, a spokeswoman with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.
The growers used charcoal filters in their operation to keep the odors from escaping the farm building that housed the farm.
“They had it so much under control, you couldn’t smell the marijuana until you went inside,” Campanella said.
Inside, however, the odor and scope of the operation were evident, Campanella said.
Alderden and Campanella visited the rural 40- to 50-acre property after U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and sheriff’s deputies raided it Wednesday.
A metal fence sealed off the plot from an approaching dirt road, but a Sheriff’s Office armored personnel carrier smashed through for access, Alderden said.
The Sheriff’s Office arrested Eloy Ignacio Garrido, 32, on suspicion of marijuana offenses and a special-offender count based on the large drug amount.
Garrido was held at the Larimer County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
The growing operation was found at 6265 Kremers Lane and more arrests are expected, Campanella said.
Sheriff’s investigators, assisted by federal agents, seized 1,307 marijuana plants and 47 pounds of harvested marijuana worth about $1.15 million.
Investigators said the indoor farm cranked out $3.2 million worth of marijuana every 90 days based on 60-day harvest cycles. Most of the pot was being shipped to California, according to drug records seized by investigators.
Among vehicles seized in the raid was a retrofitted van with a 250-gallon diesel tank. Diesel fuel was used to keep the generator humming, Alderden said.
Despite the burying of the generator and the sealing-off of odors, attentive neighbors alerted investigators about suspicious activities on the property, Alderden said.
“Alert neighbors need to be credited with bringing this to our attention,” Alderden said. “It was a good haul.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
