Pubdate: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 Source: Burlington Post (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 Burlington Post Contact: http://www.burlingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1528 Author: Robb Swybrous Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) POLICE SEIZE $260,000 WORTH OF MARIJUANA Every time the Halton police drug and morality squad successfully raids an illegal marijuana grow house, its officers are pretty sure they're making a significant dent in the illegal marijuana business. But the officer who heads up the squad admits police aren't yet sure exactly what they're up against. "I wish I knew," Sgt. Larry Burns said. "The unknown is how many (illegal grow houses) are actually out there. I think there are a lot more than we know about." One house the service was aware of, however, was raided last week. Halton officers Friday used a search warrant to enter a suspected grow house on King Road in Aldershot. Police said nobody was living in the house at the time but that it appeared to have been recently occupied by a family with young children. They describe the house as a "thriving marijuana grow operation" that included a bypassed hydro meter. Police say rewiring hydro meters to access necessary amounts of electricity to power hydroponic equipment has been a technique used in a number of other illegal grow houses in the region. Police called in Burlington Hydro workers who shut down the hydro service to the house. Officers seized 260 marijuana plants and at least $30,000 worth of hydroponics equipment from the house. The estimated street value of the marijuana is $260,000. Burns anticipates making arrests in the case soon. Until then, he says, officers will continue to look for signs of illegal grow houses and attempt to shut them down. "We kind of play it day-by-day and try and do what we can resource wise with what we have available and plug on from there," he said. Signs of illegal grow houses include houses in residential areas that have odd smells permeating from them, people carrying in and out significant amounts of planting materials, including soil, and consistent condensation forming on windows. Anyone with information on illegal drug grow operations is asked to phone Crime Stoppers of Halton at 905-825-8477. - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel