STROUD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A former marijuana grow house is being cleaned up and auctioned off with all the money going right back to fighting the war on drugs.
This is the first time the Monroe County Drug Task Force is auctioning a former drug house. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, but authorities said it has a lot of potential.
With a small stream running just outside 119 Timber Ridge Road in Stroud Township, it’s pretty peaceful even on a rainy day.
However, if you take a look inside, the house tells a different story.
“These are all the grow rooms that they had set up. That was a grow room. This was a grow room,” Detective Kim Lippincott showed Newswatch 16.
“I think it's fantastic. That was a beautiful home at one time, but it was just like destroyed,” neighbor Ruth Hummel said.
It was destroyed by Wei Ye Li. He pleaded guilty to growing roughly 1,200 marijuana plants at the home and was sentenced to up to two years in prison.
Neighbors said he trashed the place.
“I went in there because the door was open, so I went in there, and it was in total shambles,” Hummel said.
Workers have just started cleaning up the house. It used to be full of wooden platforms where the marijuana was grown, but the majority of them have been taken out.
“We hired Boom! Cleaned Up out of Saylorsburg, and they're here all this week and hopefully, it'll be done by the end of the week. They're going to take all the junk out and clean it up and make it so that it's sale ready,” Lippincott said.
All the money from the auction of the house goes right back to the drug task force.
“We're hoping that this will get us a big chunk of change so that we can pay our officers overtime and get some tools and gear that we need to help fight the war on drugs,” Lippincott said.
Authorities are hoping to get close to $100,000 for the four-acre property.
“Any win is a big win. Anything we can do to hinder the sale of any narcotic,” Detective Mario Orlando said.
People who live nearby are excited to have some new neighbors.
“It would be nice to have decent people there,” Hummel said.
You can check the house out for yourself starting next Monday from 3-5 p.m. and Saturday, October 27, from 1-3 p.m.
The auction will be held on the property at 119 Timber Ridge Road in Stroud Township on Tuesday, October 30 at 2 p.m.