The West Georgia Drug Task Force followed up on a tip that a couple was smoking marijuana in the presence of their young children and found an indoor marijuana grow in Villa Rica, authorities said.

Agents arrested a man and a woman on Wednesday, and charged the couple with manufacturing and trafficking marijuana, both felonies, after allegedly finding an illegal indoor garden in the basement of their home. The couple is facing up to 20 years in prison for the charges.

“(The indoor grow is) just another means to conceal what they are doing,” Commander Chris Hosey said. “They provide lighting for them indoors. They provide water for them indoors. ... like a greenhouse type thing.”

The agents were allegedly able to confirm the citizen complaint of narcotic activity in the home and get a search warrant. They found marijuana that had been processed and bagged, marijuana that had been cut and was being dried, and marijuana growing in pots, Hosey said. The couple shared the home with three young children, he said.

Although the agents are not sure of the exact amount of marijuana found, the trafficking charge requires more than 10 pounds to prosecute, and agents were sure there was enough to add the charge, Hosey said.

“That much dope inside of a house, I would think they were selling some of it,” he said.

The woman was arrested at the family’s home. The man was arrested with the cooperation of the Fayette County Narcotics in the Peachtree City area, Hosey said.

The couple is in the Carroll County Jail; their first appearance was expected Friday. The three children were turned over to family members.