Police seize 200 pot plants from Cleveland warehouse

CLEVELAND - Cleveland police confiscated about 200 marijuana plants and cultivating equipment in a warehouse at 2432 Lakeside Ave. in Cleveland early Tuesday.

The incident remains under investigation and a 31-year-old man was arrested Tuesday night. Gregory Scott, of Cleveland, was charged with cultivation of marijuana.

"The operation is sophisticated and appears to have been going on for quite some time," said Cleveland Police Lt. Barrow, who added that the street value of the drugs would be "thousands of dollars."

"It was a pretty big shock," said Ed Sarley who works at a business adjacent to the warehouse. Sarley said he was unaware that the building was even occupied.

Police received a call early Tuesday morning that there was an open door to the warehouse. When they arrived on scene, they detected a strong odor of marijuana.

"I can't imagine that here in the asphalt and mortar of the city that anything green of any large amount was growing anywhere," said Sarley.

Neighbor Mary Ann Kaczorek described the tenants next door as two males in their 20s.

"When they would come into the garage, they would wave to me, and I would wave to them," said Kaczorek, who uses the building next door for her floral business.

Bassichis Real Estate owns the building that housed the pot. The company, which owns other commercial properties in the area, could not be reached for comment.

According to public records, three residents rent the warehouse where the pot was discovered. But two names appear to be fictitious. One listed is a character on the HBO show "The Wire," and the other is a slang term for a cigarette and weed combination joint.

Cleveland police blocked off the street parts of Lakeside Avenue when it confiscated the plants. It also used its bomb squad truck to test the air inside for harmful substances for precautionary purposes.