Drug agents say it's one of the largest drug-making rings they've ever seen. So far, more than 50 suburban houses from Natomas, to Elk Grove, to Stockton have been discovered as sophisticated indoor marijuana growing operations.

As federal agents and local police follow the money trail, trying to discover who's at the top of this organized crime ring, News10's George Warren, Mark Hedlund and Tim Daly are also investigating. They were first to report details of how the operation was discovered, how absentee Bay Area landlords own most of the houses, how most were purchased around the same time last year and many of the sales went through the same real estate agents with little or no money down to secure financing. The research we uncovered in real estate documents, search warrants and many hours of interviews with local police and federal DEA agents all led to a massive criminal syndicate that infiltrated neighborhoods in communities up and down the Valley. Based on News10 inquiries, some of the real estate and financial institutions involved now say they're conducting their own internal investigations.

The investigation continues to this day as more and more neighborhoods across northern California discover they have something criminal in common. News10 will continue to further our investigation and add the results of our research to this page.