Milpitas police bust up marijuana cultivation house

by Susie Fowkes , April 27, 2012

Milpitas police this month made a major marijuana bust that resulted in the arrests of two people.

According to authorities, detectives executed a search warrant on a residence in the 1700 block of Gerard Drive on April 12 for an illegal marijuana cultivation investigation. Prior to serving the warrant, officers detained Santa Clara residents Viet Nguyen, 30, and Su Lee, 33, as the pair exited the residence.

Sue Lee and Viet Nguyen

Police say the search turned up evidence that the home had been converted into an illegal indoor marijuana growing operation. Detectives located 368 marijuana plants in different stages of growth and say the seized product had a street value of about $500,000.

Nguyen and Lee were booked into Santa Clara County Jail for illegal marijuana cultivation and theft of utilities.
The Milpitas Police Department offers the following tips to landlords and neighbors regarding homes being used for the cultivation of marijuana:

* Tenants pay in cash only
* Tenants change the locks and don’t provide landlords with access to the property
* Tenants are never home
* Alternation to utility equipment is on the property
* Additional ventilation has been added to the structure
* An odor of marijuana is emanating from the residence

Anyone with information on this investigation, Viet Nguyen, Su Lee, other marijuana cultivation operations, or other criminal activity occurring in the neighborhood is urged to contact Milpitas police at (408) 586-2400. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call (408) 586-2500 or leave a tip on the department’s website.

Mercury News, Couple arrested for $500,000 marijuana grow in Milpitas

Milpitas police bust up marijuana cultivation house was last modified: January 11th, 2019 by admin

Categories: California, Santa Clara

About Author

Susie Fowkes

Susie Dryden Fowkes was born and raised in the Central Coast city of Santa Cruz and studied journalism at San Francisco State University. She has lived in the Silicon Valley for more than a decade, where she has covered Bay Area news for both radio and print media. She currently resides in San Jose with her traffic reporter husband and beagle-lab mix Kona.