After police found 49-year-old Kenneth Brooks in possession of moonshine during a recent traffic stop, they obtained a warrant to search his home to determine exactly where the moonshine came from. During the course of the investigation, police were able to obtain a search warrant for the building next to his home, which Brooks also owned.
There, police claim, they found the entire third floor dedicated to a marijuana growing operation. More than 20 pounds of marijuana were found in the grow house, the largest drug cultivation bust in Roanoke Rapids history.
Inside the grow house were multiple marijuana plants, a watering system and heat lamps, among other grow-house paraphernalia. Police claim they were able to smell the marijuana before they even laid eyes on the third-floor, 3,000 square foot, grow enterprise.
Police believe that the man living in the grow house, the old Bargain Wonderland building in Roanoke Rapids, was employed to tend to the plants; charges may still be pending for him.
In the original search of Brooks home, police found several weapons and a small amount of marijuana. They did not find any evidence of processing moonshine at Brooks home, which led them to continue the search at the building next store after securing another search warrant.
Brooks faces charges of drug cultivation and trafficking based on the quantity of marijuana discovered.
Source: WRAL, “Pot growing bust likely largest in Roanoke Rapids history,” November 20, 2012