From the outside, 610 Morris Park Ave. in the Bronx looked like a nondescript apartment building — but on the inside, it was one big marijuana farm, police said.
Authorities raided the five-story building in the Van Nest section early Tuesday afternoon, pinching three people and confiscating 1,550 pounds of pot, police said.
Investigators found nearly 800 marijuana plants, many of which had grown to about seven feet in height. The weed sold on the street for $5,000 per pound, police said.
Cops began investigating the hidden cannabis farm two months ago after at least one neighbor filed a complaint about shady activities inside the building, which is part of a busy strip of commercial and residential properties, a police source said.
Residents formed a crowd outside of the building as authorities executed the bust and began hauling out evidence that confirmed what many in the area had long suspected.
“Cops come on the block and smell weed and pull us over and harass us and no one is smoking,” said local resident Andre Cardona, 20. He said the pungent smell has been wafting through the neighborhood for the past two years.
Other neighbors described regularly seeing trucks entering through a gate next to the building at night, and different men and women moving about, appearing to load items into the truck.
Cardona said he saw cops arrive at the building at about noon and pry open the gate before rushing inside, carrying shields.
Investigators eventually found that growing operations were set up on three floors of the building, complete with lighting, fan and sprinkler systems — making the whole spread into a greenhouse.
It’s an elaborate operation,” a police source said.
There were no tenants inside the building, police said.
After authorities busted the operation, a Con Edison official told investigators at the scene that there was enough electricity rigged into the building to power the entire block, a police source said.
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