The Associated Press
SHELTON, Conn. (AP)- Police have donated thousands of dollars worth of equipment that had been seized from a marijuana growing operation to a high school program that teaches students how to grow plants.
“We were happy to do it. Whenever we can take a negative thing like marijuana growing and transform it into improving the quality of life, then we’ve done our job,” Detective Sgt. Michael Madden said Thursday.
The kerosene heaters, lighting system, reflective wall paneling and potting soil used to cultivate marijuana in the attic of a Shelton building have been given to the Trumbull Regional Agriscience and Biotechnology Center.
Madden said Shelton police and agents from the Valley Street Crime Unit seized the gear in August 2003 from a Canal Street building during a drug raid.
Madden said that Shelton police were advised by the Connecticut Office of Seized Property to donate the equipment instead of destroying it.
The Trumbull regional school serves students from neighboring towns including Milford, Orange, Shelton and Stratford. The center is a high school located on a working farm operated by students.
Madden said that while he doesn’t have an exact value of the equipment, it is “in the thousands” of dollars range.