Pubdate: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Author: Bob Mitchell Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) HOMEOWNER HIT WITH $26,000 BILL Marijuana-Growing Tenants Flee, Leaving Massive Hydro Tab A Mississauga family has been hit with a $26,000 hydro bill because their former tenants stole electricity to power an illegal marijuana lab. The nightmare has left Amarbir and Arvinder Panjhazari with little choice but to pay the bill. Enersource won't restore power to their house until the company receives a certified cheque or money order. Their insurance company will cover repairs to their house, but not the hydro bill. But without power, contractors can't fix the estimated $60,000 to $70,000 worth of damage. "We had nothing to do with this, but because we're the homeowners they say it's our responsibility," said Gagan Panjhazari, the owner's 22-year-old son. "Even though the hydro wasn't even in our name, it's our problem now. "It's unbelievable. We don't know what we're going to do." Peel Region police have dismantled more than 220 residential drug labs in Mississauga and Brampton and arrested more than 300 people during the past 14 months. But the people who rented the Tridom Court house in March, 2001, had already skipped out when police came calling April 2. "Unfortunately, unless they can track these people down and go after them with civil court action, there's nothing they can do," said Superintendent John Nielsen. "We have had an extremely difficult time tracking down the occupants of rental properties in connection with these drug homes. Often their information and references are bogus and their cellphones have been dis-connected. Police said it's conceivable at least four crops were harvested in the house, with an estimated street value of $1.6 million. "These people have the ability to set up within days," Nielsen said. "If they rent a home on the first of the month, by the sixth or seventh day they can have a full operation going." The Panjhazaris didn't think there was anything unusual when they rented the house through a real-estate agent. "They were supposed to be a couple with two young children," Panjhazari said. "We found them through a legitimate real-estate agent and their references checked out." When the year-long lease expired, the tenants opted to rent on a month-to-month basis. "The March cheque bounced," said Panjhazari, adding that when he contacted the real-estate agent, she told them there was nothing she could do. "We think they were using an alias," Panjhazari said. "We don't even know if there was ever a real family living there." Although the Panjhazaris said police are investigating the real-estate agent, police only confirmed they're generally taking a closer look at real-estate agents dealing with houses that are rented and turned into illegal drug laboratories. Panjhazari found the front door unlocked and the tenants gone when he went to discuss the bounced cheque. Like many residential pot labs, the tenants had bypassed the hydro meter so Enersource couldn't detect the enormous amount of power being used to feed the hydroponics equipment round the clock. On April 5, Enersource notified the Panjhazaris that the hydro meter had been repaired, but in order to restore power to the house they needed $25,989.39 to cover 376 days of electricity and repairs. Hydro officials concluded that at least 42 1000-watt high-intensity lights, three blowers and 10 fans were used in the house. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex