Marijuana grows in Maspeth.
Andrea Sanderlin, a suburban mother from Scarsdale, reportedly came off as a typical mom taking care of her three children, driving her Mercedes SUV around town. That was until federal authorities busted her for allegedly running a large-scale marijuana operation on the side.
Her double life was unearthed when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) discovered a weed-growing warehouse nestled in Maspeth, housing over 1,000 marijuana plants as well as large quantities of dried marijuana, according to a criminal complaint.
In April, a confidential witness told law enforcement agents that a woman they knew as “Andi” operated at least one grow house. Andi was later identified as Sanderlin.
When feds tracked Sanderlin’s Con Edison accounts, they were led to a location entitled “Fantastic Enterprises” associated with Sanderlin’s phone number. Con Ed reps told agents the site was using an unusually high amount of electricity and bills were paid in cash, according to authorities.
DEA agents observed Sanderlin drive between her Scarsdale home and the warehouse site several times throughout May. On May 20, feds tracked the woman as she left her home, and stopped her just before she got to the grow house. Sanderlin went with them to the site and confirmed the warehouse was hers. However, she did not give them permission to enter.
That didn’t stop the agents, who entered the plant pursuant to a search warrant, and discovered the location contained a “sophisticated operation to grow and process marijuana.”
“Each room contained state of the art lighting, irrigation and ventilation systems to facilitate growing the marijuana,” the complaint said.
If convicted, Sanderlin faces a minimum of 10 years jail time.
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