Ventura County detectives investigating separate drug lab and illegal marijuana grow

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an alleged illegal marijuana grow operation in Thousand Oaks and what’s believed to be a small-scale drug lab that was discovered by detectives serving a search warrant at a different location Tuesday.

The first investigation began after Ventura County firefighters put out a residential fire in the 700 block of Emerson Street in Thousand Oaks, said Sgt. Tim Lohman, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

Deputies were called to the home around 10:20 a.m. by firefighters who discovered what looked like an illegal marijuana grow operation, Lohman said. Following a preliminary investigation, authorities believe the grow operation caused the fire, the sergeant said.

Micah Berger, 43, was arrested in connection with the grow operation’s discovery, according to Lohman and jail records.

In a separate case, narcotics detectives around 2 p.m. served a search warrant in the 5000 block of Norway Drive in an unincorporated area outside Ventura, the sergeant said.

Details about the investigation were not available Tuesday night, but Lohman said the warrant was not related to the earlier fire or marijuana grow operation and had to do with a fatal overdose.

He did not have information on when the overdose occurred.

After serving the warrant, detectives found a small-scale drug lab, Lohman said. Authorities did not disclose what kind of drugs were allegedly being made in the lab.

No additional information about the incidents was available Tuesday.