1 arrest, marijuana seized in large illegal grow near school

GLENDALE, Ore. (AP) — One person was arrested and more than 18,000 marijuana plants were seized at three warehouses next to a high school in southwest Oregon, according to the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team.

The narcotics team said in a news release Friday that detectives executed a search warrant at the warehouses in Glendale Thursday after smelling marijuana and seeing a high volume of people and materials coming and going.

Detectives found a Medford man hiding in one building and discovered a substantial illegal marijuana growing operation with plants in all stages of growth, along with about 4,100 pounds of processed pot, the news release said.

A large volume of lighting equipment, water and air filtration systems were found along with hundreds of fans and timers, monitoring equipment and pesticides, according to the narcotics team.

Eduardo Hernandez-Reyes was arrested and take n to Douglas County jail on suspicion of unlawful possession, manufacture of marijuana and manufacture of marijuana near a school. It wasn’t immediately known if he has a lawyer to comment on the case.

In the years since Oregon voters passed a ballot measure legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and its regulated cultivation and sale, the state has been grappling with illegal marijuana farms mainly in the south.

The Oregon Legislature last year dedicated $25 million to help police, sheriff’s offices and community organizations pay for the ballooning costs of cracking down on the industrial-scale farms.