A husband and wife appeared in court Thursday on charges of operating a drug factory in Wolcott.
The State Police Narcotics Task Force and Wolcott police executed a search and seizure warrant at a home at 41 Manor Lane around 7:30 p.m. and found a marijuana growing operation, according to officials.
Approximately 200 marijuana plants were found in two separate growing rooms in the basement. The rooms were equipped with high-intensity growing lamps connected to electrical timers, circulating fans and dehumidifiers for climate control, police said. The basement walls were lined with foil to reflect light onto the plants and a four-foot tall, large-capacity charcoal filter for air quality and odor control purposes, according to police.
In addition to the plants, processed marijuana was also found, police said.
Police arrested Eric Bierce, 37, and his wife, 35-year-old Michelle Bierce. The couple lives in Waterbury and has two children.
Eric Bierce was inside the home when police raided it. Michelle Bierce was in a car outside the home, according prosecutors.
The Wolcott house was being used for the sole purpose of growing marijuana and no one was living there, police said. The couple was renting the house, according to their attorney.
Both suspects are charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of more than a kilo of marijuana and operating a drug factory.
Each suspect is being held on $150,000 bond and will be back in court May 22.
Photo Credit: Wolcott Police