Neighbor's tip leads police to massive marijuana grow house

HOUSTON – Undercover officers with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Houston Police Department pulled at least 100 marijuana plants from inside a home in the 9300 block of Starfire Lane in Southwest Houston on Tuesday.

Investigators got a call about the house from neighbors who had been smelling something suspicious.

“They could just smell something like marijuana coming from the house,” said Sgt. David Lane with HPD. “It was a pretty strong smell when we got close to it.”

Last week when officers went to the home to check it out, no one was there, but Tuesday evening they returned with a search warrant and went inside.

They found pot growing in every room of the house, including the garage.

Officers said whoever lived there used the living room as a place to cut the plants and bag the drugs.

“It’s a huge fire hazard, too,” said Sgt. Lane. “All of the lights and the electricity being pulled through the house.”

Investigators removed all of the drugs and drug paraphernalia from the home.

The case remains under investigation, and while no one was arrested Tuesday night, police do know who they’re looking for.

“We hardly ever see them,” said Keon Ho, who lives across the street. “Most of the time I see him once a month, I thought he was just a businessman, he always comes with a briefcase.”

He is a businessman, and police say what was happening in that house was big business.

One hundred pot plants could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars. All of it is now off the streets.