A suburban New York City mother of two who’s active in the equestrian community was arrested and charged with cultivating an estimated 3,000 marijuana plants valued at about $3 million — a near-real-life tale of Showtime’s dark comedy-drama “Weeds.”
Andrea Sanderlin, 45, of Scarsdale, N.Y., pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, USA Today reported. Investigators say she dubbed her alleged marijuana business “Fantastic Enterprises” and ran it out of a warehouse in the city.
“This highly sophisticated indoor marijuana grow operation was hidden in a warehouse in Maspeth, Queens,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Crowell said in the USA Today article. “The operation was identified and safely dismantled as part of a Strike Force investigation.”
One tipoff to investigators: Consolidated Edison reported that the warehouse was consuming an inordinately large amount of electricity, USA Today reported.
Ms. Sanderlin’s charges include conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants, USA Today reported.
Showtime’s “Weeds” is about a mother who maintains her upper-class, elite lifestyle by making massive marijuana deals.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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