NJ Cop Follows His Nose to Record Pot Bust

A 23-year-old patrol cop busted what authorities say is the biggest marijuana-growing operation in New Jersey history when he caught a whiff of marijuana smoke coming out of a chimney in an upscale Middlesex County community. At first Officer Thomas Lucasiewicz thought someone was smoking a joint nearby “but with his bloodhound senses, he realized it was much stronger,” said a state police spokesman. “He followed his nose. Then he saw smoke rising from a chimney.”

Lucasiewicz called in backup. They raided the house and found a man—“the gardener, essentially”—disposing of unusable plants in the fireplace. They realized they’d stumbled onto a huge growing operation. During the following week they raided five more houses that had also become pot factories, ultimately uncovering $10 million worth of marijuana. “These were not run-down homes,” said the police spokesman. “Several of them were worth in excess of $1 million.” Six people were arrested; three more remain at large. (More marijuana stories.)