Manteca police arrest 2 in residential pot grow discovery | Crime

MANTECA, CA - Complaints from suspicious neighbors led to a raid of a large indoor marijuana grow operation in a Manteca home Thursday.

Manteca police officers with a canine and state parole agents began checking on the house in question on the 1800 block of Arlington Court at 3 p.m. Thursday, said Officer Jason Hensley. The canine detected possible narcotics and that was grounds to obtain a search warrant.

Inside the property, officers recovered 638 marijuana plants, 23 pounds of dried marijuana bud, 51 high-intensity lights and lighting equipment, and 19 fans, Hensley said. The search also turned up $2,691 in cash.

Pacific Gas and Electric and local code enforcement were also contacted because of the discovery of an electrical bypass. Upon investigation, PG&E said just to power the lighting without the bypass would have cost $8,750 a month but their records showed the occupants were paying just $70 a month.

It was also learned, Hensley said, that in just  two days this week, 1,300 cubic feet of water was delivered to the house which would be the normal amount for a full month.

Officers made two arrests. Taken into custody were Wai Chung Ng, 27, and Jason Jiang-Hua Hu, 26, both of San Francisco. They are facing cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale and theft of services, Hensley said.