MOUNT VERNON — One person was arrested late Thursday night after an indoor marijuana growing operation was shut down near Gambier.

According to Knox County Sheriff David Barber, detectives and the Tactical Response Unit executed a search warrant at 11 p.m. Thursday at 8081 Big Run Road, discovering an indoor marijuana growing operation. Barber said three rooms in the house were modified for growing marijuana with high intensity lamps, fans and power supplies.

Kelly Bessett, 46, Mount Vernon, was arrested inside the house at the time of the raid. She is being held in the Knox County Jail on a fourth-degree felony charge of illegal cultivation of marijuana.

Barber said detectives seized 66 growing plants and a quantity of dried marijuana as well as paraphernalia, chemicals and fertilizer. The street value of the seized marijuana was estimated at $70,000.

The ongoing investigation is being handled by Detective David Light with assistance from detective Sgts. Roger Brown and Gary Rohler.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office, an active member of the METRICH Enforcement Unit, encourages anyone with information about marijuana cultivation or other drug activity in the county to contact the Detective Division at 393-6800 or the toll-free Crime Tip Line at (800) TIP-US-OFF (800-847-8763, ext. 333).\