Pubdate: Fri, 28 Apr 2000
Source: Richmond Review (CN BC)
Copyright: 2000 Richmond Public Library
Contact:  Unit 140 5671 No. 3 Road, Richmond, B.C.
Fax: (604) 606-8752
Website: http://www.rpl.richmond.bc.ca/community/RichmondReview/
Author: Martin van den Hemel

EXTRA POLICE TO HELP FIGHT MARIJUANA GROW-OPS

Landlords and residents were urged to help battle what Richmond Mayor Greg 
Halsey-Brandt described as the "alarming proliferation" of marijuana grow 
operations in the city.

RCMP Insp. Allan Speevak said he suspects about three-quarters of the 77 
hyrdroponic operations shut down last year are linked, although he could 
not name any criminal gangs suspected of masterminding the illegal efforts.

Halsey-Brandt called a press conference Wednesday morning where he 
announced initiatives to further raise public awareness about the illegal 
activity.

He said rental houses turned marijuana greenhouses are endangering police 
and fire crews because some are booby-trapped with electrified door handles 
and loaded guns set up with trip wires.

Their presence in a neighbourhood drives down property values and results 
in fires that in the past three years alone have caused nearly $1 million 
damage. In addition to stealing electricity, criminals who set up these 
hidden plantations are often arrested carrying loaded weapons and are using 
the money generated by the marijuana crop to fund criminal gangs.

"It is time we get serious about marijuana operations," Halsey-Brandt told 
reporters.

Halsey-Brandt provided police-generated statistics that indicate a sharp 
increase this year in the number of grow operations busted by local police.

So far in 2000, there have been 72 marijuana grow ops discovered by police, 
compared to 77 during all of 1999. That puts local police on pace to shut 
down 200 operations for the year, which would amount to more than in all of 
1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 combined.

During a province-wide crackdown on pot grow ops earlier this month, police 
arrested 96 people, seized 14,000 plants worth an estimated $8.2 million 
and several weapons including rifles and shotguns. Since February, 40 
children have been apprehended and turned over to social services.

"This is certainly organized crime in action," Halsey-Brandt said.

But when a reporter asked Halsey-Brandt whether the increase in grow ops 
may simply be explained by more police enforcement and more tips from the 
public, he agreed that could be part of the explanation.However, he 
believes there are more marijuana operations in Richmond now than ever before.

The city is holding an information forum for property owners and landlords 
on Tuesday, May16, at 7 p.m. at the new city hall on No. 3 Road. It will 
attempt to educate residents on telltale signs of a possible grow 
operation, such as boarded up windows, a skunky smell in the air and 
humming noises that may emanate from a motorized fan. Absentee landlords 
are asked to keep a closer eye on their properties. Local police, insurance 
crime prevention representatives, BC Hydro officials along with a member 
from the Attorney General's residential tenancy branch will also be in 
attendance.

In an effort to address these concerns, the city has increased its budget 
to fund 10 additional RCMP members and one additional BlockWatch member.

Police currently receive between 15 and 20 reports of suspected grow ops 
each week, Speevak said. All but three of the 72 grow ops busted so far 
this year were found in rental houses.

Speevak said there has been no indication of threats, intimidation or 
retaliation as a result of grow-op tips and emphasized that police deal 
with public tips in a discrete manner.

The booby traps found in some grow operations were designed to keep people 
from breaking in, but present a danger to police who may be executing a 
search warrant or fire crews responding to a fire, Halsey-Brandt said.

"For our community, this is really serious stuff," he said.

RCMP Const. Bruno Paquette said there is no single profile for marijuana 
growers. Some are in their early 20s while others are in their 60s.

"Everybody's doing it."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart