SWAT Raids Home Over Hydroponic Equipment Purchase, Finds Tomatoes and Squash in CIA Agent's Home.

reply to post by jude11


wow. and for me that is so into AQUAPONICS (instead of plant food, it's a self sustained system using fish feces as plant food) gets me worried. i am in the process of buying my equipment as time goes cause i can't afford it all at once....
check my thread out.


become less dependent on the system for less than $100!!!

Originally posted by litterbaux
I don't understand why you folks are getting so upset over this. They are bringing legal charges against the agencies that conducted the illegal searches.

This case will get swept under the rug and these folks will probably get around 50 to 80k in damages. Not bad.

People are getting so upset over this because...we...you...me...could be next in line for this type of treatment by authority figures, tracking our shopping habits. It's profiling, plain and simple. No just cause. Profiling.

Using the reverse excuse to not profile, is what gave the TSA it's foot in the door into the largest invasion of our privacy, this Country has seen in decades. Slippery slope my Friend.....

Des

Originally posted by CookieMonster09
Listen, this story smells fishy. Why is anyone growing tomatoes in the off-season anyways? Most people, even in the suburbs, grow tomatoes in the summer time outdoors.

These hydroponics retail stores are bad news. They cater to growers of illegal weed and it's evident in their stores that this is their clientele. I respect law enforcement, and would give them the benefit of the doubt in this case. It is highly unusual for people to grow tomatoes in their basement. Most of the times the people purchasing hydroponic equipment are purchasing this equipment to grow illegal weed.

LOL! Why would anyone grow tomatoes in the ON-season? They are everywhere and dead cheap in summer. The crappy ones you can get at the grocery store are four bucks a pound though, in winter. Anyone who actually likes flavor in their food...not to mention nutrition, lack of waxes pesticides and GMO, has to grow it themselves.

I respect most law enforcement officers too. However, as a First Responder, I see too many situations where the organizational imperatives trump respect for rights and privacies. Often, I see cops out doing their jobs, but working on one departmental task force or another, that has little to do with protecting anyone, and much more to do with some Federal grant, or making their boss look good on paper. Disturbingly often, I see cops ignoring the "official" rules, in FAVOR of some poor schlep who isn't doing anything really wrong, but would get swept up nevertheless, if they followed their guidelines strictly. Think about what that means. While it is great that good cops are willing to put their ass on the line for someone who is harming no one......what kind of latitude does that leave for those who are not so good?

But, I suppose it might be that they are just practicing for when it becomes illegal to grow your own food...as has already happened in some places. In many areas, it is against the law to trap the rain that falls on your property.

Originally posted by Knives4eyes
reply to post by jude11

 

If their electricity usage didn't spike up then they weren't using very strong lights, so the only way for these 2 people to get 'busted' would be their internet usage and purchases. (and plant signature cameras)


If you grow the other stuff you need O3 generators to combat smell, a ventilation system, and massive massive lumens. Now I have met some people who claim that you have to wire your "room" illegally to save on power but I try to stay on the unhandcuffed side of the law.

I'm glad it was them that got caught growing unmolested vegetables in the sanctity of their own homes rather than me. Damn criminals.



edit: Quote from wrabbit - What they look for are two things from the air. One, plants give of a unique signature as he explained this to my curious ears.

Ah I totally forgot about those special cameras!!!! I found out about those last year I believe but was highly skeptical.....*queue x-files theme*

edit on 31-3-2013 by Knives4eyes because: (no reason given)

edit on 31-3-2013 by Knives4eyes because: (no reason given)

Laser Chromatography - back in the 1970's there was a waste disposal company called Raychem who ran incinerators. To save on costs (and boost the directors bonus), they'd run the incinerators on low power at night, but this had the side effect of contaminating the area with dioxins. Residents would find black soot all over their gardens in the mornings. They made complaints, inspectors would visit the site, but of course the incinerators were at full burn, so nothing was seen. A good clean well run operation. Residents tried taking photographs of the chimney stacks, but all that showed was yellow/orange/blue flames even if they did get something. They couldn't get close to the plant because the ground were surrounded by security fencing and barbed wire.

Then the environmentalists got involved, they brought in laser chromatography systems. These systems would use one or more low-power laser beams of various wavelengths at the target object, and measure the color spectrum of the light reflected back. As every different atom and chemical has its own absorption and emission patterns of light, they were able to identify what chemicals were being released. They kept this system aimed at the chimney stacks for weeks on end. Time and time again, they were able to see when the incinerators were operational and when dioxin soot was landing in gardens. These correlated and the evidence was used to fine Raychem. Eventually, there were so many fines that the company ended up closing the plant.

There are now hand-held versions, and presumably can be operated from helicopters too.

Originally posted by OUTofSTEPwithTHEworld
reply to post by jude11

 

wow. and for me that is so into AQUAPONICS (instead of plant food, it's a self sustained system using fish feces as plant food) gets me worried. i am in the process of buying my equipment as time goes cause i can't afford it all at once....
check my thread out.


become less dependent on the system for less than $100!!!

Ummm...I checked out your aquaponics system and just wanted to add that you dont even need the pea gravel for plant support. I know that your using it for filtration/solid breakdown in the rest of the system. You can use netting above the tanks for plant support and just keep the roots in the "water". I learned this method at Disney in their "behind the seeds" tour. I have a vanilla orchid that is doing swimmingly, with it's roots in a large pitcher with a styrofoam cap that the stem feeds through. I'm planning on setting up an aquaponics system this year, one that is sized so that I can harvest both fresh veggies and fresh fish, year round.

I think the mistake that these spooks made was in buying their equiptment as a pre-made product, rather than building their own system. Had they researched and built their own they might not have been raided. Then again if the tech is advanced enough to peer through walls, perhaps they could sue on the grounds of invasion of privacy and health concerns from the the xrays used to see through their home....

YouSir

Originally posted by openyourmind1262
You got to be a fool to purchase indoor growing equipment from these garden stores. Go to Lowes Or Home Depot and buy the componets and build it yourself. It's not rocket science.There's ways to slow down your electrical meter. I know I was a service electrician for 29 years. I've seen some real tricky ways to thwart the power company. Some legal, some not. Got a whole list for those who may want to know this knowledge.

Hell I feel good today. I'll let you in on a way, most electrical meters have a little round disc in the center that turns, the faster it turns the more power your consuming, and the slower it turns the less you are using. You want to slow down that disc. But how the meter is a sealed unit. If you look close at the little wheel, it has little lines or notches in the edge, these turn thru another area and this is what meters your power.

That little disc is really thin and perfectly flat, it's the perfectly flat part you want to change, as the disc is warped it will scrape as it goes thru the other area, which slows it down, alot. But how to do this in a sealed meter, they have tamper evident seals.

All you need is a real sunny day, a really powerfull magnifying glass. Cut the power, concentrate the suns rays on that little disc, in time the heat will cause it to warp and go from flat to wavy. Which in turn will cause it to scrape and turn slower. which records less electrical usage, but your using the same amount. It's a sealed meter and they cant in no way know how the meter became defective. They will simply replace your meter if it's found. Let the wheel move a bit so there's no scorch marks on it.

That is ingenious!!!! I would love to know more! do you know if these tricks work with smart meters?

Originally posted by brandiwine14
I saw this briefly on the internet the other day, find it very amusing.

What a way to waste a bunch of time and resources. To top it off the judge that gave the okay along with the department that asked for the warrant will most likely be sued now. Imagine doing everything right and just trying to grow a garden for you and your family and in come the swat scaring you, your kids and basically taking your sense of home and security away from you. At least no deaths came from their mistake...this time.

Good thing they didn't have a dog. We've all seen know how SWAT folks seem to like to shoot them...

Cash is king folks...buy in cash. No purchases put you on a list that way.

reply to post by openyourmind1262
"


Most" meters today are digital, big business has replaced the old reliable disc meters for plastic digital remote telemetry remote read capability. Because of this process Meter Reading departments could cut their work force by over 80% what took ten guys can now be done by one guy driving by in a truck with a remote read base unit in one a days worth of work. Problems:After a severe thunderstorm with a lightening strike to a neighborhood distribution network it is not uncommon to have 80 plus meters "fried" (where the old fashion disc meter wouldnt) so they dont read anymore but the customer maintains power sometimes, the plastic meters being made of plastic parts sometimes go into "galloping" mode meaning they register useage at a "higher" rate sometimes greater then 5X normal caused by a over heated resisiter, just unplug the meter and let it "cool" down and this condition goes away. The plastic meters have a antitamper capability if a plastic meter is pulled and tilted by more then 15 degrees during the next meter reading it sends a signal to the Automated MeterReading truck it has been tampered with. Sorry but can you tell i have worked alittle while in the electric utility industry.



"Remember choose your friends carefully"

Originally posted by Kr0nZ

Two former CIA employees whose Kansashome was fruitlessly searched for marijuana during a two-state drug sweep claim they were illegally targeted, possibly because they had bought indoor growing supplies to raise vegetables. Adlynn and Robert Harte sued this week to get more information about why sheriff's deputies searched their home in the upscale Kansas City suburb of Leawood last April 20 as part of Operation Constant Gardener.

Did anyone else find it funny that they choose April 20 to raid the place?
I guess they figured if they were real pot users they wouldn't be home on 420

HAH I ddnt even see that... Good eye, how do I give a star?

reply to post by tinyDAWK


To bestow coveted stars. You click the little *hollow* star in the top left hand side of the post you want to star. It then lights up/fills in as star bestowed.....

I starred your post, so you can see what it looks like.

Des

reply to post by tinyDAWK



Dont' do this okay, they may make you purchase a brand new digital box.

Originally posted by jude11

Originally posted by littled16
reply to post by jude11

 

One would hope the members of the Swat team and the investigating officers would feel like jerks for busting in on innocent people, but the sad truth is that more likely than not they don't.

So now people are getting raided just on suspicion that they MIGHT be doing something illegal with equipment that is used for legitimate purposes. Minority Report style pre-crime law enforcement- here we come!

SWAT would mean that they were aware of a potential for guns I believe. And why not? Ex-CIA etc.

Maybe looking for a cache of weapons because of them growing food being seen as prepping?

Just a little strange.

Peace

From what I have seen SWAT is now pretty much a standard addition to raids, regardless of the individual being raided.

But, NO warrant????

What I'm wondering, though, is A) increased power usage, B) powerful lights, C) etc as named in the article....are those actually probably cause for a warrant and/or a raid when there is no reasonable suspicion that something illegal is actually going on?

This stinks. Has to be more to this story, indeed.

Neither did Bob and Addie Harte, a Kansas couple who were raided by SWAT without a warrant last April because the authorities took notice of their purchase of indoor gardening items.

NO WARRANT.

With little or no other evidence of any illegal activity law enforcement officers make the assumption

NO Evidence of illegal activity. They ASSUME.

that buying hydroponic growing equipment is now being used as probable cause for the government to raid your house?

I would love to see the legality if this, and see this practice challenged in court.

NO WARRANT.

reply to post by Liquesence


That's right...no warrant. Our society has drifted over the line of probable cause, to profiling, to incriminate a person in the eyes of the law.

Des

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