Rental House Owner Speaks After 9 Tenants Arrested, Charged With Drug Trafficking

Official charges were filed against nine people accused of illegally trafficking marijuana out of an Edmond Airbnb. It was the homeowner who first caught on to the whole operation.

Related: 9 Arrested, Charged With Drug Trafficking In Edmond Rental House

In a business of high turnover, what’s constant for Tina Lewis is hard work.

“People don’t quite understand the amount of time it takes to do this,” said Lewis.

There’s the laundry, the cleaning and the room improvements that seem to never end. Tina likes to go above and beyond.

Some stays though, are well beyond expectation. She holds her breath each time she arrives after checkout.

“It’s like playing a game where they’re all wild cards. You never know,” she said.

One stay in December had to be the wildest.

“It blows my mind,” said Lewis. “Just absolutely blows my mind.”

It started when she noticed unusual activity on her outdoor cameras.

“Several times every several minutes they would look out they would come in they would go out and come in,” she said.

Often doing so with boxes and black bags. Still, she gave them the benefit of the doubt. That is until the next morning.

“I’m watching these vehicles come around like it’s a dang drive through,” she said.

At that point she called police who arrested nine people for illegally trafficking marijuana.

Fixing damage and cleaning up took about three days, but that wasn’t as bad as wondering what could have happened. 

“It could have escalated into something much worse than just some trash and marijuana that I had to vacuum up,” said Lewis. “They’re paying a few hundred dollars for my 300 plus thousand dollar investment.”

The home is not just an investment, but her livelihood. It’s a home booked nearly every weekend.

Lewis says the person who booked the house on Airbnb had a highly rated profile, but he wasn't among those staying there that night.

Her advice to other short term landlords is stay vigilant and don't be afraid to say something if you see something out of the ordinary.