HUNDREDS OF MARIJUANA PLANTS SEIZED AT CHINATOWN APARTMENT

Police officers conducting a routine search through a building of clothing
manufacturers in Chinatown discovered hundreds of marijuana plants hidden
behind secret doors in a loft-style second-floor apartment, the police said.

The officers were patrolling the building, at 39 Eldridge Street, on
Thursday after having found someone trespassing, when someone walked out of
a second-story door and the scent of marijuana wafted into the hall, the
police said. Officers looked inside the door and saw marijuana plants, the
police said.

The officers obtained a search warrant and entered the apartment's living
room, which contained a sofa, a wide-screen television and bookshelves. The
shelves hid doors sealed with magnetic locks that could be opened with
remote controls in the living room, the police said.

Behind the doors were 400 or 500 marijuana plants, each about 5 feet tall,
police officials said. "You looked in there, it was like the Amazon forest,"
one investigator said.

The police charged Fernando Pe=F1a, 35, with criminal possession of=
marijuana.
Officers also recovered hydroponic equipment used for growing marijuana
indoors, including air compressors and equipment to keep the machines quiet.
Most of the building, which has five stories, is occupied by workers toiling
at sewing machines.

"We were confident we were going to find something," said Officer Andrew
Oliver, who found the drugs with Sgt. John Xenakis. "But it was probably
more than we expected."


By MICHAEL WILSON
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/20/nyregion/20POT.html?tntemail1