San Bernardino police and federal agents raided a warehouse converted into a multi-level grow house on 13 December 2017, detaining eight people and seizing 35,000 marijuana plants, about 18,000 pounds, from an operation police believed was bringing in millions of dollars a month.[1][2] The once-abandoned four-storey warehouse had been outfitted with a twelve-foot fence, concrete walls, fortified doors and a high-tech surveillance system, and its electricity bill ran to $67,000 a month.[1][2] Investigators also raided three further properties, finding marijuana plants in each, all owned by 43-year-old Stephanie Smith of Pacific Palisades, who police said was taking in millions of dollars a month.[1][2]
The investigation began after neighbours complained about two months earlier, and although marijuana had been legalised in California, the growers lacked the required licences and permits.[1] Smith was investigated but was not arrested or charged with a crime, and the eight people detained at the warehouse were not charged either.[1][2] A police lieutenant called it the biggest grow he had seen in 26 years on the force.[1][2] A few months later Smith sued the city of San Bernardino over its new cannabis licensing ordinance, saying it unfairly shut out businesses that had clashed with the authorities.[2]
