LAGUNA HILLS : 697 Marijuana Plants Seized at Warehouse

Nearly 700 marijuana plants with a street value of about $50,000 were seized from a warehouse by Orange County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday, authorities said.

Shortly after the plants were confiscated, officers arrested Cary David Snyder of Laguna Beach and Adam Jay Johnson of Newport Beach on suspicion of marijuana cultivation.

“This was a significant bust,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini. “We generally find people growing marijuana in garages or their homes. This was a pretty sophisticated operation.”

The 1,700-square-foot warehouse, listed as a chemical cleaning company, is in the Laguna Ridge Business Center at 23352 Peralta Drive. Other tenants told police that nobody visited the firm during business hours, although a man showed up every night about 8 p.m.

When workers in adjoining offices noticed unusual odors coming from the warehouse, they called the business park landlord.

Fearing a chemical spill, the landlord asked deputies to help her enter the building.

As deputies walked inside, they recognized the strong scent of marijuana coming from the main warehouse, according to a report.

Narcotics investigators put the warehouse under surveillance, and about 8:30 p.m. they saw two men trying to enter the office, Martini said.

Snyder, 28, and Johnson, 24, were arrested without incident, authorities said.

“It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to use a chemical company as a front,” Martini said.

Confiscated were 697 marijuana plants growing in planters. Deputies said they also found an elaborate cultivation system with an automatic water regulator, heat lamps and fans.

The plants ranged in size from inch-high sprouts to eight feet in height, Martini said.