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'Plant After Plant' Removed From Home, Feds Raid More Marijuana Operations

By Dillon Thomas

FREDERICK, Colo. (CBS4) - Federal and local authorities were conducting raids of marijuana grow operations at several different homes on Colorado's Front Range on Thursday.

Some of the busts were taking place in Weld County in Frederick and in neighboring Firestone. Agents from the DEA and the North Metro Drug Task Force began executing federal search warrants at approximately 8 a.m.

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(credit: CBS)

At a home in Frederick in the morning a CBS4 crew captured video of investigators wearing special outfits and masks and loading pounds and pounds worth of pot plants into a trailer.

"There were numerous houses in neighborhoods such as this that we conducted operations at," said Derek Odney, a spokesman for the DEA office in Denver.

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(credit: CBS)

One of the homes had more than 408 marijuana plants inside.

"We get calls from drug investigators all over the country about sources of drugs that are sourced back to Colorado," Odney said. "We've seen a tremendous amount of homes such as the ones in this neighborhood that are being used to grow marijuana to supply other parts of the country."

Odney said he couldn't reveal if anyone has been arrested.

Angela Wright told CBS4's Dillon Thomas she was visiting her mother when law enforcement raided the home next door.

"I was looking out the window, looking at the mountains, and then a SWAT vehicle turned the corner," Wright said.

Wright watched as law enforcement executed search warrants in three homes next to her mother's.

"They busted in the door," Wright said. "It was terrifying."

Wright said she was overwhelmed by the response, and to see how much marijuana was pulled from the homes.

"It was just plant after plant after plant," Wright said. "It makes me worry about my mom's safety. To think there were this many grow houses this close, that is insane to me."

Wright said some neighbors had suspicions of marijuana use in the homes, but never expected there to be illegal grows inside.

"When it was summer, (residents) couldn't open their house (windows and doors). The smell would permeate their houses," Wright said.

Dillon Thomas is a reporter at CBS4 and a Colorado native. He believes everyone has a story, and would love to share yours! You can find more of his stories by following him on Twitter, @DillonMThomas.

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