Cubans control Fla. pot grow-house trade

Published: Oct. 18, 2009 at 4:09 PM

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Cuban refugees control hundreds of marijuana grow houses in South Florida, dominating a lucrative trade that is nearly punishment-free, police say.

Being caught for indoor cultivation of the ultra-potent pot, which sells for $4,500 per pound, usually draws only probation, unlike the lengthy prison sentences and deportation faced by immigrants engaged in other aspects of the drug trade, The Orlando Sentinel reported Sunday.

The newspaper, citing the U.S. Department of Justice, court records and interviews, reported that since 2005, Cuban drug trafficking organizations have set up hundreds of new grow houses from Miami to Atlanta.

"This takes me back to the old days of the mob," Polk County, Fla., sheriff's Organized Crime Squad Sgt. Julio Lima said. "This is organized crime at its best."

The Sentinel said South Florida police officials estimate Cubans who arrived in the United States since 2005 represent 85 percent to 90 percent of the suspects arrested on grow-house charges. In grow-house hotspot Poinciana, Fla., Cuban-born suspects make up 85 percent of those arrested.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/10/ ... 255896574/