Cops Seize $4 Million to $5 Million Of Marijuana Plants From 7 Area Grow Houses

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA -- Six people were arrested Wednesday in connection with operating seven grow houses in San Jose where officers found nearly 2,000 marijuana plants with a street value estimated at $4 million to $5 million, a police spokesman said.

Officers have seized a total of 1,872 plants from the grow houses, possibly one of the Police Department's largest pot busts in "quite some time," police Officer Albert Morales said.

The investigation began three months ago and was led by the Metro Unit, which served eight warrants starting at 7 a.m. Wednesday, he said.

One of the warrants was served at the Winsted Court home of 39-year-old Dean Trinh and 38-year-old Kim Le, domestic partners who were identified as the primary suspects, Morales said.

The investigation started when a landlord called police to report suspicious activity possibly involving marijuana grow house at a rental home, according to Morales.

On April 15, officers executed a search warrant on Bodega Way where they found 700 plants inside home left vacant, Morales said.

Follow-up investigation into the renters was conducted by the Metro Unit, which identified Trinh and Le as persons of interests and linked them to eight other addresses, where the warrant were served today, according
to Morales.

At the seven grow houses, police searched between 25 and 30 rooms that each contained about 50 to 100 plants at various stages of maturity, Morales said.

Some 5-foot-tall plants found each had an estimated street value of $3,500, he said.

Trinh and Le are domestic partners who share children that have been placed under the care of relatives, the spokesman said.

The couple is being booked into jail on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale, cultivating marijuana and other alleged crimes, according to Morales.

The four other suspects, who haven't been identified, were arrested at the other homes, Morales said.

The seven grow houses were spread in the southern and eastern portions of the city on Hancock Avenue, Winstead Court, Glenburry Way, Dubanski Drive, Los Pinos Way, Marshwell Way, Norwood Avenue and Dennywood Court, Morales said.

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--Bay City News/File photo