Lodi police find 6,000 pounds of marijuana in hash oil operation

Two Sacramento residents and nine others were arrested on Thursday following a building inspection conducted by Lodi police that resulted in the discovery of a butane hash oil marijuana lab.

Heather Keyes, 30, and Mitchell Rodriguez, 32, were contacted by law enforcement after Lodi police received complaints of a marijuana smell coming from the building, which had an expired building permit and was supposed to be housing a clothing and accessories storage location called Fly-N-High LLC.

Keyes and Rodriguez refused entry by code enforcement officers, although detectives noticed evidence of a marijuana butane hash lab, a release from the Lodi Police Department said. Butane hash oil is a concentrated form of marijuana that is commonly known as wax or BHO.

Upon entry, detectives found nine other people, who all claimed to be Fly-N-High employees, along with a fully operational butane hash oil lab.

The San Joaquin County Metro Narcotics Task Force Team was called to assist, and detectives found more than 6,000 pounds of marijuana, 300 pounds of hash/honey oil, lab equipment, illegal firearms and a “large amount of cash,” the release said.

All 11 suspects were taken to the Lodi City Jail on charges of manufacturing a controlled substance, according to the release.

Police previously responded to a residence that housed a butane hash oil lab that exploded earlier the same week. No one at the residence was harmed when the explosion occurred last Wednesday, including the two young children as well as a 32-year-old man who was later charged with arson, child endangerment and manufacturing a controlled substance.

Police say the two incidents are not related.

Detectives are urging anyone with information about butane hash oil labs to contact the department at 209-333-6734.