Miami-Dade Police were on the scene of another grow house Monday evening, the fourth in roughly a week to be broken up. The latest one also houses a suspected cockfighting ring.
Police were at the scene of the suspected grow house on the 12000 block of NW 6th Street in Miami after receiving a tip. NBC 6’s Jamie Guirola was first on the scene and said two people have been detained while investigators search the property.
The two suspects, 46-year-old Julio Valdes and 50-year-old Lazara Lopez, were later arrested and charged, police said. Both were being held without bond on warrants Tuesday, jail records showed.
Detectives seized about 64 plants or 50 pounds worth of pot at the house.
The entrance to the underground grow house was hidden behind a dog house. There were reportedly several layers to go through to get to the underground pot, which was in an area that stretched half the length of the residence.
The grow house had lighting, fertilizer, illegal power, and loose wiring, police said.
"There's a bigger story than marijuana," said Detective Roy Rutland of Miami-Dade Police. "The bigger story is we have very combustible chemicals underground beneath a home an din a neighborhood were we know people are living."
Detectives found the cockfighting ring in the back yard. It housed about 24 roosters, dead and alive, in large cages, police said.
Stay with NBC 6 for the latest details as they become available.
