Police allege marijuana was grown in underground bunker

June 27, 2008 12:23 PM

(Carver Police Photo)

The entrance to the bunker where police say they found a marijuana-growing operation.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Police discovered a 10-foot-deep underground bunker Thursday afternoon in Carver that was allegedly used by a man for an extensive marijuana-growing operation.

William Nickologianes

Officers were assisting a woman with retrieving her belongings from a house on Center Street, Carver Police said in a statement.

The woman had a restraining order against her live-in boyfriend, William Nickologianes. He was away from the house at the Plymouth County jail because he had been arrested earlier that day for assault and battery and illegal possession of a handgun. While at the house, police saw a shopping bag full of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, the statement said.

When Nickologianes returned home, he admitted to officers that he had narcotics in the house, police said. After obtaining a search warrant, police found marijuana in varying amounts throughout the house, along with starter trays containing small plants and a bucket of marijuana stems and buds.

While searching the backyard, police discovered a 10-foot-deep pit emitting a strong marijuana smell. A door in the side of the pit led to a 20-foot-by-40-foot room.

The room, constructed of cement blocks with a cement floor, contained numerous marijuana plants and was outfitted with ventilation ducts, an irrigation system, and assorted grow lights with shades, electric timers, and growth enhancers. There were also log books outlining growth processes for previous crops and a DVD on how to grow marijuana, police said.

Nickologianes was arrested and charged with one count of cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of steroids. He is being arraigned in Wareham District Court today.