Stash Houses
The following lists the typical indicators of a stash house. These
indicators alone do not necessarily mean that the occupants of the home are
running a drug stash house. However, if these indicators or any other
suspicious activity is observed at the residence, it may warrant
investigation.
Community members are encouraged to contact the Mesa Police
Department drug interdiction number at 480-262-1174 to report
suspicious activity. Callers may remain anonymous.
- Most drug stash houses are rental homes.
- Stash house caretakers prefer homes with attached
garages.
- Yard is unkempt, although sometimes they send someone
periodically to clean it up to avoid attention.
- Usually little, if any, furniture in the home.
- Occupants tend to keep to themselves and they will not
be visible on a daily basis. If the occupants are actually
living at the stash house, they will not appear to hold a
regular job, or have a "normal" pattern of lifestyle.
- Different types of vehicles, especially vans and pickup
trucks, will enter and exit the garage at different hours of
the day or night (quite often they prefer to work in the
night time or early morning hours.)
- The vehicles arriving at the stash house will have
different license plates on them, including Arizona,
California, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. They may often
display paper "buyer" or "dealer" tags. They may also use
these license plates interchangeably with all of the
vehicles.
- You may not see anyone at the stash house for several
days or weeks, and then there will be a lot of activity (as
described above) at the house.
- There may be an accumulation of advertisement material
on the front door.
- Stash house occupants do not usually put their trash out
for regular collection, but instead, prefer to dump it at
another location themselves.