Family's $1 Million Pot Operation Busted In Tampa Bay: Sheriff

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL – PHOTOS: Individuals' images from top: Maritza Rodon; Ramon Fernandez-Fernandez; Ariel Fernandez; grow-house photos.

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A Tampa mother, father and son this week were arrested for allegedly trafficking marijuana, running multiple grow houses with a $1 million street-value inventory and stealing electricity, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies, along with special investigators, patrols and the street crimes unit on Wednesday served search warrants on four properties in Tampa and arrested Maritza Rodon, 60, Ramon Fernandez-Fernandez, 66, and Ariel Fernandez, 41.

The four warrants, for homes in residential neighborhoods, were served on the 8900 block of Westbay Boulevard, the 5900 block of Birchwood Drive, the 13700 block of Old Farm Drive and the 8200 block of Drycreek Drive. Three of the four locations were converted for the sole purpose of cultivating marijuana, deputies said.

Officials said the marijuana recovered had a street value of $1,079,280, with 370 marijuana plants weighing 539 pounds. Also confiscated was a Hi-point 9mm semi-auto weapon, officials said.

Detectives also discovered an illegal electric connection providing unmetered electricity to three residences with a combined total electricity theft of $21,402, the Sheriff's Office said.

Rodon and Fernandez-Fernandez listed their home address as the Drycreek Drive property. Their son, Fernandez, shows his primary residence as being on the 9700 block of Stone Mountain Place in Tampa, according to records.

The trio was arrested without incident and charged with suspicion of trafficking and cultivation of marijuana, grand theft of electricity, renting/owning/leasing for purposes of trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia, deputies said.

This is the 37th indoor marijuana grow operation eradicated in 2017, according to the Sheriff's Office.

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--Photos via HCSO