A trap door in a Florida backyard has led police to an underground nursery of marijuana plants worth a total of nearly $400,000.


It was in the cement floor of a backyard shed that police in Naples, Florida found the trap door emptying into a steal container housing the plants.


With a SWAT team surrounding the house on Wednesday, officers entered the 416-square-ft room to find over 133 plants growing with others hanging to dry in the above-ground home.





Discovery: A trap door in the floor of a storage shed has led police to the discovery of a hidden room containing nearly $400,000 worth of marijuana plants

Hiding: This is the steel-walled room found containing the illegal plants after neighbours reported a smell coming from the home, leading to its discovery

Collier County sheriff's Captain Chris Roberts described the room and drug operation as 'pretty sophisticated,' according to Naples Daily News.

'They're obviously a little bit out of the ordinary when you find these underground, especially with the high water table we have in south Florida,' he said.







The home's owner, 54-year-old Jesus Manuel Jaime, who has yet to be found, had been arrested 10 years prior at the same house for growing marijuana.


In that 2002 arrest, police found plants growing in two rooms inside the house with the help of a custom-made irrigation and lighting system.


Operation: The 416-square-ft room was found growing over 133 plants, some seen hanging to dry here inside the above-ground home



Backyard: The storage shed, pictured, was placed behind the home and shielded from roadside view, hiding the trap door and its contents

Owner: Jesus Manuel Jaime, 54, who owns the home, has yet to be found while 10 years' prior he was arrested for growing marijuana at the same site

Police confiscated 177 plants and growing materials in that raid.


According to NBC2, it was a distinct smell that led police to obtain a search warrant for the home on Wednesday.

Neighbours of Jaime were calling the find 'freaky,' according to NBC2.


'Yeah because I was all up in the shed and never even noticed anything. Nothing,' one woman whose name was not given said. 'They have dirt and everything all over the bottom. Couldn't even tell.'

A husband and father, according to one neighbour, Jaime tended to keep to himself while believed to have been living alone since his wife and daughter moved to Miami about three years ago.


Following his arrest in 2002, Jaime pleaded no-contest to three felony charges, according to Naples News, and received two years of probation.


They are currently looking for him for questioning on the current operation found.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156473/Trap-door-leads-police-underground-marijuana-operation-worth-400-000.html#ixzz1xF4EHBHI