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'Skunky' Smell Leads To Grow Operation Arrest

Pasco County Sheriff's Office

The Pasco Sheriff's Office Vice and Narcotics Unit with the assistance of the Pinellas H.I.D.T.A. Task Force served a search warrant on a residence located at 15742 Peace Blvd., Spring Hill.

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By DAVID SOMMER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 30, 2008

SHADY HILLS -- An illegal immigrant from Guatemala is behind bars today, charged with cultivating marijuana.

Luis Gonzalez Lopez

A narcotics detective responding to a neighbor's complaint of a "skunky" smell emanating from a home at 15742 Peace Blvd. discovered 117 plants with a potential value of $250,000 or more, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office reported.

A man living in a shanty behind the home, Luis Gonzalez Lopez, 31, had the keys to the house and admitted to using its kitchen and bathroom in addition to helping with the plumbing in the bathroom, his arrest report states.

The plumbing had been altered to irrigate the plants and the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative reported that electricity was being diverted into the home, presumably to power grow lights, the report states.

Lopez, who is identified as an illegal immigrant in the report, remains at the Land O' Lakes Jail with bail set at $5,000.

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