The suspected co-ringleader of an illegal marijuana grow operation was arrested in her Rainier Beach home.

In all, five people were arrested, including a woman and her husband, also described as the “co-ringleaders.”

Coordinated arrests went down early Wednesday morning in Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma, and Lakewood.

Neighbors say they long suspected something illegal was going on there. For one thing, they could smell it.

Lakewood Police began investigating complaints about this house back in 2021. The investigation languished until last June, leading to the boarded-up windows.

“At 4:20, we saw spotlights and heard ‘8-3-1-9, come out with your hands up,’” that was the early morning wakeup call on Wednesday morning for Toni Porturas and her neighbors around Maybelle Lane Southwest.

“I

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