This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office is investigating a ring of indoor marijuana growers on Fellsway Dr.

The ‘big narcotics bust’ involves warehouses where the marijuana growing allegedly took place.

Image courtesy of Deon Guillory

According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, warrants were obtained “as the result of a week-long joint investigation into a marijuana cultivation and distribution network.”

Images courtesy of East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office

The search warrants were used at six locations including these in East Baton Rouge Parish:

  • 2887 Cedarcrest Ave (stash/distribution location)
  • 2854 Fellsway Drive (marijuana grow warehouse)
  • Glennsade Drive (marijuana grow residence)
  • 11011 Cal Road #78 (Assad Layous apartment)

The other two locations where warrants were issued resided in Livingston Parish.

Those locations are listed below:

  • 26524 Todd Drive, Walker
  • 16945 S. Goodtime Road, French Settlement

All of this happened on Wednesday, March 17, and led to the seizure of these items below:

  • $48,836 (pending seizure)
  • Approximately 920 marijuana plants
  • 31.2 pounds of marijuana (approx. street value $62,000)
  • 19.71 ounces of Keef (high grade marijuana powder)
  • 16.5 ounces of THC wax
  • 310 ML of Psilocybin spores
  • 254 grams of Psilocybin
  • 26 vials of LSD (2600 dosage units)
  • 5.4 grams of MDMA powder
  • 9mm FN handgun
  • 10mm Glock handgun
  • .380 Taurus handgun

The joint investigation led to the arrests of the individuals pictured below:

Images courtesy of East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office

The suspects and charges they are facing in East Baton Rouge Parish are listed below:

30-year-old Michael Conway:

  • PWITD Sch. I (Marijuana)
  • Kamal Shash Middle Eastern Male 10-26-92
  • PWITD Sch. I (Marijuana)
  • Gavin Laborde W/M 10-3-94
  • PWITD Sch. I (Marijuana)

28-year-old Kamal Shash:

  • PWITD Sch. I (Marijuana)

26-year-old Gavin Laborde:

  • PWITD Sch. I (Marijuana)

30-year-old Carmen Coetzee:

  • Poss. of Cocaine
  • PWITD Sch. I (Marijuana)
  • Poss. of a firearm with CDS

37-year-old Assad Layous:

  • PWITD Sch. I (Marijuana)
  • PWITD Sch. I (Pylicybine)
  • Cultivation of Marijuana
  • Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia

“This is a great example of coordination and communication that has led not only to arrests and seizures, but has fractured a multi-state, organized crime ring that plagues all of our communities and is frequently linked to violent crime,” EBR Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said.

These organizations took part in the investigation:

  • Pike County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics (MS)
  • LSP Narcotics
  • LPSO Narcotics
  • DEA Task Force
  • EBRSO Intel
  • EBRSO SWAT
  • EBRSO K-9

“This is a prime example of great communication between local and state agencies as well as neighboring Sheriffs. We all worked as one team to piece this puzzle together. We compiled each agency’s information. We all moved in unison. And, you’re seeing the result of that teamwork,” said LP Sheriff Jason Ard.