GRAFTON – Police say they shut down an illegal, large-scale marijuana cultivation operation at a home where they found about 100 pounds of cannabis, on Jan. 2.
The Grafton Police Department said that they arrested a 27-year-old man, whom they did not identify, during a raid at 8 Kessell St. following an investigation into an illegal marijuana growing operation.
Police Chief Neil Minardi told the Telegram & Gazette the Police Department had received an anonymous tip about the operation and worked with the Blackstone Valley Drug Task Force, a regional collaborative unit including officers from several towns, to investigate the issue.
“We worked on the investigation and ultimately executed a search warrant of the residency, where evidence of the operation was discovered,” Minardi said.
Around 7 a.m., the Grafton police posted a message on social media advising people to avoid the area of Kessell and Oak streets due to large-scale police activity.
Minardi said that the department has reason to believe that the home is potentially part of a larger criminal enterprise, and that charges are expected to be filed against other individuals. The name of the person who was arrested, and who is being charged with operation of an illegal marijuana cultivation facility in a residential neighborhood, is not being disclosed while the investigation continues.
In Massachusetts, a person can grow up to six marijuana plants at a time in their home, according to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission. If two or more people live in a home, they can grow up to 12 plants.
Minardi said approximately 100 pounds of marijuana was recovered at the home on Kessell Street.
“This was not the case of someone who was only permitted to have 12 plants and they grew 30; this was a large-scale growing facility we suspect was part of a larger operation,” Minardi said.