BY
NICHOLAS BROWNAn upscale Pembroke home
joined a growing list of area
marijuana-growing locations
taken out in operation “Green
Thumb,” a collaborative effort
between local, state and federal
policing agencies .
The three-bedroom Pembroke
home, on three-and-a-half
acres at 542 Rebecca Way, was
one of 10 homes zeroed-in on
in the largest drug find in state
history.
Homes filled with marijuana
plants in nearby Epsom and
Hooksett have already been targeted
by police, and those operations
have yielded two arrests.
State police said the Hooksett
and Epsom busts led to the identification
of other homes that
were doubling as marijuanagrowing
houses.
As of press time, no one
had been arrested in association
with the Pembroke home,
which police estimate contained
1,500 plants with an estimated
street value at maturity of $6
million.
In late October, police arrested
34-year-old Toan Nguyen,
who is accused of growing about
780 marijuana plants – worth up
to $2.7 million – in a Hooksett
home at 24 Evelyn St.
Police were first alerted to
the operation after firefighters
responded to an exterior electrical
fire at the home, where
power was allegedly being
diverted.
Just weeks later, on Nov.
2, police entered a home at 35
Woodcote Drive, Epsom, while
investigating another alleged
rerouting of electrical power.
There police found 1,396
young marijuana plants along
with about $2,000 worth of
growing supplies, according to
state police.
Police later arrested 37-yearold
Chamber Tran and charged
him with felonious drug possession
with intent to distribute.
A U.S. District Court judge
has ordered that Tran be
detained until his trial, which is
scheduled for Feb. 21.