False alarm leads to drug bust, arrests at smoke shop

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston Police are investigating a burglary at what they call a marijuana packaging operation in South Houston.

"This isn't your everyday bust," said Houston police officer Corey Harrington.

Harrington was one of the first officers at the scene around 1am Tuesday morning; he and colleagues thought they were responding to a burglary alarm at the Metro PCS store in the 12800 block of Cullen Boulevard near Almeda-Genoa Road. The call was a false alarm.

But then, police say they saw several people run into the Action Smoke Shop and Studio, located in the same shopping center. Officers went inside the smoke shop and heard several people crawling around in the ceiling.

"Sometimes they like to hide in the attic sometimes people try to get away," Harrington said.

HPD arrested six people in all, including the owner of the Action Smoke Shop and Studio.

Officers say they found several pounds of marijuana, a small amount of cocaine, and cash and one handgun inside the store. Some of the drugs were flushed down the toilet. In total, the drugs have a street value of about $500,000.

Houston police also seized about $9,000 in cash.

Officers are gathering more details and canvassing other businesses for information.