These Cannabis Growers Kept A Pet Monkey In Their Illegal Grow House

You know you work at a hip place if you’re allowed to bring your dog to work with you. But that’s nothing compared to what these cannabis growers had going on in North Coventry Township, Pennsylvania. They had a pet monkey living in their grow house. For them, every day was bring your pet to work day.

A Grow Site, A Ton Of Weed, And A Monkey

A hunter called local authorities after he smelled a strong scent of cannabis coming out of a house. When cops showed up to investigate, they found a massive, super sophisticated grow operation.

But that wasn’t the most surprising thing they found. A monkey was running around somewhere in all that green.

All told, here’s what the cops found:

• more than 100 cannabis plants
• nearly 200 pounds of bud
• high-tech growing equipment including lights, fertilizer, fans, and more
• and, of course, a monkey. And for the record, it was a little, half-pound marmoset.

Authorities said the weed had a street value of almost $500,000. After finding the grow operation, authorities arrested three men who are now being held in the Chester County Prison.

And as for the monkey, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said it was “really cute.”

“It’s funny, all of these hardcore drug guys who came out after the investigation, not to tell us that there were over 100 plants of marijuana in there, but to say, ‘there’s a really cute monkey in there,'” Hogan said.

The three men are suspected of having ties to Mexico. Authorities also think the grow site could be part of a much larger, nationwide network of grow operations.

After arresting the growers and busting up the grow house, authorities took the monkey to a local animal shelter. According to the shelter, the marmoset was recently taken to a permanent home at the East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue.

Black Market Cannabis Can Get A Little Weird

This isn’t the only time cops have busted up illegal cannabis activity only to discover some sort of unusual animal. In fact, black market weed is quite often accompanied by strange and unexpected discoveries.

For example, authorities in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin busted a group of teens for marijuana possession last year. When they raided the kids’ basement, they were shocked to find a crocodile.

The croc was in poor health, which meant that the teens could also have been charged with animal cruelty on top of their weed charges.

And things get even weirder when it comes to smuggling.

People will go to any lengths to sneak illegal weed across national borders. Smugglers have tried disguising packets of ganja as watermelons, carrots, broccoli, and more.

And if sneaking them across borders doesn’t work, you can always go over and under them. For years, people have built complex and high-tech networks of tunnels that criss-cross beneath national borders.

Last fall, border officials found a huge air cannon that had been used to launch bundles of weed into the U.S.

Simply put, black market weed and weirdness seem to go hand in hand. Whether it’s a monkey in the grow house or electrical carts in subterranean tunnels, it’s always something unexpected.