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Hernando Today

SWAT Team Swarms Residence

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By KYLE MARTIN

Published: December 20, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE - The sheriff's SWAT team stormed the residence early Wednesday afternoon and found six rooms

in the 2,600 square-foot house crammed with marijuana plants.

Most growers set aside a room or two for living in, but this house only had a pair of cots

in the kitchen, Sheriff Richard Nugent said.

Up until this point, that was unheard of in Hernando County.

The degree of sophistication involved in this operation also caught investigators by

surprise. Brilliant high-sodium vapor lights dangled over rows of lush plants instead of the

typical heat lamps.

One room was dedicated to drying out buds — also a first — and there was evidence that the

growers were cloning plants, according to Deputy Donna Black, spokeswoman.

The growers favored hand-watering the plants and had 55-gallon drums of water sitting in

each room, she said.

All told, there were 395 plants inside the house worth roughly $790,000 because of their

quality. More than 500 discarded root balls were discovered in the back yard, according to

Black.

Tuan A Nguyen, 37, of Tampa, was inside the house when the raid occurred. He is charged with

theft of services for allegedly tampering with the electricity and trafficking in marijuana.

The homeowner, Viet Khac Dinh, pulled up in a black Lexus while deputies were still pulling

out plants. He is charged with principle to both of the charges Dinh faces.

Though the properties on Morgan Lane are spread apart, this is still the country and people

say hi, said Dan Burns, who lives across the street.

The people at 15234 Morgan Lane moved in about eight months ago and came and went at odd

hours "almost like a business," said Burns. He stopped to consider that. "I guess that's

what it was."

Many of the latest arrests in connection with grow houses have involved Hispanics, but the

chopsticks by the kitchen sink broke that trend Wednesday.

When deputies burst in the door, the big screen TV was tuned to a Vietnamese channel. A red

shrine with gold gilt by the front door was obviously Asian in origin.

The one person inside the house, who was not named before press time, spoke Vietnamese and

only little English. What appeared to be a watering schedule was written in Vietnamese.

Black said the grow operation was likely supplying marijuana outside the country, but

exactly where remains under investigation.

Like the surrounding properties, the cream-colored house with a columned front porch sat on

a five-acre spread bordered by a fence. Its residents kept the yard mowed and the grounds

neat and tidy.

Boards and foil covered the windows so that no one could peek in and light would not escape.

A false wall was built in the foyer directly behind the front door to conceal the plants in

the living room.

There was nothing about the house to alarm the neighbors.

But someone obviously knew appearances were deceiving because a Crime Stoppers tip launched

an investigation several weeks ago.

Because the house is on a private road, the traditional surveillance van parked across the

street had to be abandoned in favor of more subtle techniques. Deputies in heavy camouflage

called "ghillie suits" kept an eye on the comings and goings of the residents from the woods

across the street.

This was the second bust in less than a week. Last Tuesday, deputies dismantled two grow

houses on Chamber Court in Spring Hill and another on Spring Hill Drive.

"There's really no rhyme or reason to it," Nugent said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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