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Deputies bust Pueblo home a second time for illegal marijuana grow, seizing $76,000 worth

pot bust pueblo
Courtesy of Pueblo County Sheriff's Office

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Deputies busted a home in Pueblo County on Thursday for the second time after discovering another illegal marijuana grow. This time, authorities seized 76 marijuana plants worth an estimated $76,000.

The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office says alterations made to the home's electrical system tipped them off to a possible illegal grow. The suspect residence had also been the place of a bust in 2016.

Deputies went to the home on the 1100 block of Camino Santiago after learning that the electric system had been altered to bypass the meter. Narcotics detectives were not able to get ahold of the residents, but they noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the home.

Deputies contacted the out-of-town homeowner who said she was renting the home but could not give out the tenants' names.

Detectives obtained a search warrant and found three separate grow rooms in the basement containing 76 marijuana plants. The plants were all in various stages of growth through different light settings and irrigation systems.

The sheriff's office says the house is condemned due to extensive damage done to its electrical system. It is not known whether any people lived there. No arrests have been made but that may change, deputies said.

The home was also the site of a marijuana bust in 2016. During that incident, Texas officials alerted the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office about a possible illegal grow.

Seven people, all with ties to Florida, were arrested during that raid. Deputies seized almost 1,900 marijuana plants worth about $250,000 across five different homes including the one on Camino Santiago.

“This was nothing more than a Black Market grow house,” said Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk M. Taylor. “People are moving into these homes that were already set up for marijuana grows and are growing product that is going strictly to the Black Market.”

Deputies say it's unclear whether the 2016 illegal operations are related to the most recent raid.

Taylor says this illegal marijuana grows continue to be a problem in the county. Another unrelated raid was conducted on Oct. 9 at a rural home in Avondale.

“This continues to be an issue in our community,” Taylor said. “We thank the public and others who are reporting when they see suspicious activity surrounding possible grows. We will continue to remain diligent investigating those reports."

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Zachary Aedo

Zach is a reporter for KRDO and Telemundo Surco. Learn more about Zach here.

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