PUYALLUP, Wash. — By the time Puyallup police raided the massive high-tech, hash-oil laboratory Wednesday morning, they'd already spent months digging into the place.
The cannabis company's website (DMOG LLC) presents a glimpse at what was going on inside. Lab workers are pictured doing the potentially explosive work of separating hash-oil from marijuana, which was also grown on-site. Investigators told KIRO 7 the company applied for a state license to process marijuana legally, and when that application was denied, the work began anyway.
Hash-oil extraction involves the use of propane tanks, and detectives told KIRO 7, there were enough tanks in the operation on the 2400 block of Inter Avenue to level several city blocks in an explosion.
Detectives told KIRO 7 the building has even been condemned, because the company constructed a separate building within the warehouse to process the marijuana, and the building had no city permits.
The owner of the warehouse is Puyallup's deputy mayor, John Hopkins, who says he was completely surprised by the activity happening in his building. “I was aware they asked for permits, but I certainly wasn't aware that they were actually active," he said.
Neighbor Donna Barnes had no idea the explosive danger right across the street could have leveled her home.
“Honest to God, I'm kind of speechless and in awe, looking at all this," she said.
Captain Scott Engle of the Puyallup police department told KIRO 7, the threat of a catastrophic deadly blast reached for blocks.
“The potential for an explosion and in a large commercial building like this, a large commercial operation they have going here, the potential for explosion is great,” he said.
Six people are in custody, including a British citizen police say is in the U.S. illegally. Donna Barnes says she is grateful the explosive threat is now over.
“I’m glad they found it, and stopped it," she said.
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