Joint operation seizes 4,500 marijuana plants at 4 Rancho Cucamonga homes

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man from New York state is facing charges after a huge marijuana bust in the Inland Empire.

In a joint effort between Rancho Cucamonga deputies and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Marijuana Enforcement Team, authorities seized more than 4,500 marijuana plants after serving search warrants at four homes in Rancho Cucamonga.

All four had sophisticated indoor grow operations, with advanced lighting systems, air conditioning, fans, exhaust blowers and air filters.

At three of the locations, the growers stole thousands of dollars worth of electricity by bypassing the Southern California Edison meters, officials said. That is a common practice at large marijuana operations that generate big demands for electricity.

The city of Rancho Cucamonga prohibits large commercial cannabis growing, with limits of no more than six plants at a residence.

The homes were red-tagged as unsafe to occupy and the electricity was disconnected by Edison.

The suspect was identified as Shumin Lin, 44, of Flushing, New York. He was arrested and booked for illegal cultivation of cannabis.

Authorities are working to identify other suspects connected to the operations.

The locations were identified as: 5100 block of Bucklestone Place; 12900 block of Evermay Court; 7400 block of Bungalow Way and 12900 block of Canopy Street.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is urged to contact the Sheriff's Gangs/Narcotics Division at (909)387-8400 or NARC-MET@sbcsd.org. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.