Under the blazing sun, uniformed and plain-clothed officers spent several hours Thursday carting off marijuana plants, money and equipment to grow the drug from a business on St. Johns Boulevard in Vancouver.

The scene may look like a mistake — the business, Grow Systems Northwest, deals with marijuana, a legal commodity in Washington state.

But while it may appear legitimate, law enforcement says it isn’t licensed as a retailer and it doesn’t operate within the confines of state medical marijuana laws. So, police say, the business is making illegal broad-daylight drug deals to the tune of at least $200,000 untaxed dollars a month.

The owner of the business, who said he was “embracing” a loophole but not breaking the law, was taken into custody on suspicion of multiple felonies.

An illegal business, police say

Grow Systems Northwest, 6502 N.E. St. Johns Road, fell under the eye of the Clark-Vancouver Regional Drug Task Force in mid-April when a Vancouver police officer responded to the business for a report of a stolen recreational vehicle.