Suspect Sought in Indoor Pot Bust Near Leesville

Seventy-three marijuana plants were seized on Thursday by the Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) from a home near Leesville and now officers are looking for a suspect in the ongoing investigation.

An arrest warrant was being obtained on a charge of manufacturing marijuana for Alexei Garcia, 40, who lives at the home at 1640 Ben Franklin Road, Leesville, Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts said in a release.

Garcia, who is 6 feet tall and has black hair and brown eyes, was not at the home when NET offices raided the home about 10 a.m. Thursday.

Garcia, who has lived in Florida and Texas, might have fled South Carolina, Metts said.

Officers received a tip that an indoor marijuana growing operation was being operated at the Ben Franklin Road home, Metts said.

Officers found the 73 marijuana plants being grown in two bedrooms of the home. Thirty high-intensity grow lamps and sophisticated electrical equipment, which was used to power the indoor marijuana growing operation, also were found, Metts said.

Metts also said the pot operation at the Ben Franklin Road home is connected to “sophisticated, large-scale indoor marijuana growing operations” from previous marijuana busts held earlier this month at seven homes near Batesburg, Gilbert and Leesville.

In those , NET officers arrested seven people and seized 51 pounds of marijuana, which was packaged for distribution, and 373 marijuana plants, Metts said.

The packaged marijuana and marijuana plants had a combined street value of $484,000, according to the release.

At each home in the marijuana growing operation, electricity was illegally connected from power poles to the residences for the use of powering the lights and irrigation equipment, according to the release.

The arrests and seizures of marijuana plants as well as packaged marijuana resulted from an eight-month undercover investigation that NET officers conducted concerning marijuana operations based at homes in western Lexington County, Metts said.

Anyone with information about the indoor marijuana growing operations is asked to call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at 803-785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. You can also provide information anonymously by accessing the Crime Tip link.