Plant haul
Stoned in Sderot: Police bust yields 400 marijuana plants
Largest laboratory of its kind found in southern Israel. Police find professional equipment in couple's home
Sderot police uncovered an unprecedented "hydroponic" laboratory containing 400 marijuana plants during a raid on a home in the southern city in the early hours of Thursday. The find was made at a two-story home on the outskirts of the city, better known for its constant struggle with Gazan rockets, where police found five rooms refurbished to serve as a professional grow house.
As well as the plants, police confiscated large quantities of fertilizer, irrigation and ventilation systems, heat lamps, and professional lighting equipment.
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A couple in their thirties, both residents of the city, were arrested at the laboratory, and were taken in for questioning. On Thursday morning the police asked Ashkelon Magistrate's Court for an extension of their remand.
Sderot lab
Police say there is a new growth trend in cannabis in Israel
"Hydroponic" refers to the growing method of this particular type of marijuana, in which the plants are not rooted in the ground. According to police, this is the fourth lab bust in the southern district in the last week alone.
Southern District police claim the trend of residential growing operations is on the rise: "The busts in Israel in general and in the south in particular are the result of intelligence activity."
More than a dozen marijuana plants were discovered in the Sderot raid
