Feds Say Dealer Sold Potent Purple Pot

Source: mlive.com

DETROIT (AP) — A major marijuana ring in southeastern Michigan involved 22 people and two dozen homes where a potent variety of purple pot was secretly grown and sold, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Brian Osburn, 33, of Belleville is accused of being the leader since 2002. He's charged with conspiracy, running a criminal enterprise and aiding mortgage fraud.

The 24 grow houses were in Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw counties. The indictment says some houses also were used to get mortgages through identity theft, forgery and phony appraisals.

The marijuana is known as "purps" or "purple cush" because of the color of the buds.

"It's very potent and very expensive, up to $5,000 a pound," said Rich Isaacson, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Detroit.

Osburn was in custody awaiting a hearing Wednesday in federal court in Detroit. It was not known if he had a lawyer.

He and co-conspirators "purchased the required items for the indoor grow operations from local hardware stores such as Home Depot," the indictment says.

Under Osburn's direction, his allies learned how to grow and cultivate the plants while living in the houses, according to the indictment. There also were two outdoor sites.

The investigation, which lasted nearly four years, began with a seizure of a small amount of marijuana during a traffic stop by an Oakland County sheriff's deputy, Isaacson said.

About 600 plants worth $250,000 were discovered Tuesday in Canton Township.

"The group thought that they were conducting their business safely behind the walls of quiet suburban homes and business offices, but they were only kidding themselves," said Robert Corso, an agent in charge of the DEA in Detroit.

The indictment seeks $8.2 million from the defendants for their alleged crimes.