Morgan Hill police and state officers seized 2,775 marijuana plants and 30 pounds of the drug Thursday inside an elaborate clandestine grow house and arrested a Morgan Hill man, police said Friday.
Daniel Segel, 32, was arrested on felony marijuana cultivation charges at the growing operation in a commercial building at 16035 Caputo Drive, near Tennant Avenue about a half-mile west of U.S. Highway 101, police said.
The suspect allegedly rented about 6,000 square feet of space in three units of the building to house a sophisticated grow business with a complex air filtration and irrigation system, police said.
Steps were taken to avoid detection, including attempts to mask odors emitted from the operation and not filing for business or use permits, police said.
A Morgan Hill city code enforcement officer declared the warehouse unsafe after discovering many changes to the electrical system and other alterations to the building without a permit.
The seizure, after officers executed a search warrant at the building, included the 2,775 plants in various stages of growth and 30 pounds of processed marijuana, police said.
Investigators obtained a second warrant to search Segel's residence where they confiscated more marijuana and equipment associated with growing the drug, police said.
Morgan Hill police detectives worked the case with detectives from the Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team, a state task force that assists local law agencies in fighting drug trafficking, according to the website of the California Department of Justice.
