Ebraheim Salem

A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy in connection with a massive marijuana growing operation police found in a slaughterhouse in Jefferson Township.

Ebraheim M. Salem, 30, was originally charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors. In reaching a deal, he pleaded guilty to one felony, for which he could be sentenced to 5 years in prison or probation and could face a fine of up to $15,000.

Judge William Shaffer will sentence Salem on Oct. 25.

Police arrested Salem and Phillip M. Mironov, also of Pittsburgh, last year after they discovered a massive growing operation in a slaughterhouse on Saxonburg Road.

There, they found four large grow rooms and seized 95 cannabis plants along with all the necessary equipment needed to harvest the plants.

Mironov had been facing similar charges to Salem’s but the case against him was dropped after he was found dead from a drug overdose, according to Salem.

“He was going down a really bad path and I couldn’t be around that,” Salem said.

The growing operation was discovered after inspectors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture notified police that something besides livestock was at the slaughterhouse.

The owners of the property on the 1000 block of Saxonburg Road were renting the building to Salem, presumably “for the purpose of processing meat,” according to court documents.

Along with all the cannabis plants, police had found suspected marijuana strewn across the floor and in buckets.