Cops make major hibiscus bust

It turns out the tall plants with the narrow leaves arranged in a fan pattern weren't pot plants at all, but specimens of Texas Star hibiscus (search), which Davis grows for his landscaping business.

That didn't convince the 10 or so members of the Harris County Organized Crime Unit (search) who stormed around the house.

"I just put my head down, shook it and said: 'Guys, you are making a terrible mistake. That is Texas Star hibiscus, not marijuana,'" Davis told the TV station. "They just told me to shut up."

At one point, the officers discussed whether the bamboo in the window might be the demon weed as well, Davis told the Houston Chronicle. They also asked him what he planned to do with the watermelons and cantaloupes growing out back.

"What would I do with them?" Davis said he responded.

(read article)

The best part:

"To us, it's an unfortunate thing that Mr. Davis got caught up in this situation," says Dan Webb, operations commander for the county task force involved in the raid. "But if the situation came up today, we would've probably done the same thing."

(read other article)

The police wouldn't have done anything differently today? The plants were in his front yard, and they wouldn't even walk up and take a close look at them to verify whether they are in fact marijuana before invading his home?

Of course not. Property seizures in drug cases are very lucrative, and since they have the search warrant they're going to do the search even if it's clearly a mistake.