DETROIT – Charges against six people have been dropped in the case of a million-dollar marijuana bust along the Detroit riverfront, officials announced.
The case was dismissed with prejudice, according to the 36th District Court.
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Police seized more than 1,000 marijuana plants May 29 during the bust in the 4400 block of West Jefferson Avenue in Southwest Detroit, according to officials.
Police said a Border Patrol agent alerted them when he smelled a strong odor of marijuana. The Detroit Police Gang Intelligence Unit got a warrant to search the building in less than two days.
"We got a whole large operation here," Detroit police Sgt. Gerry Johnson said. "Looks like in excess of a million dollars at this location."
Marijuana was confiscated from several different green-lit rooms, officials said.
"As you can see, this is a very sophisticated operation," Johnson said at the time. "There's a lot of work and dollars into this operation."
Six people were arrested at the scene. They were originally charged with delivering and manufacturing 45 kg or more of marijuana or 200 or more plants, which is a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Four people were charged with conspiracy to deliver or manufacture 45 kg or more marijuana or a synthetic equivalent of 200 or more plants, which is also a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The charges against all six people were dropped Tuesday.
Here is a statement from the Detroit Police Department:
"The DPD enforcement action on this address was appropriate. The growing activity was illegal; no one was allowed to grow that much marijuana in one location. If the judge was able to look into the minds of the people responsible and determine that they didn’t intend to break the law, that is his prerogative. However, it does nothing to invalidate the appropriateness of the raid. DPD is supposed to enforce the law, and that is what they did."
Here is a statement from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office:
"I have confirmed that the court granted the defense motion to dismiss the case. However, I don’t have a written opinion.
"It is my understanding that the court held that the defendants operated in good faith regarding all the provisions of the law that they knew about the class C license (1500 plants) for a grow operation. The duty was on the city of Detroit to inform them about what was required and they failed to do so."
You can see several images from the pot bust below: