Pubdate: Wed, 07 Sep 2005
Source: Temiskaming Speaker, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005 The Temiskaming Speaker
Contact:  http://speaker.northernontario.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2389
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

MARIJUANA GROW OPERATION

Large Operation Discovered In Cane Township

NORTH BAY -- Police have discovered a second large outdoor marijuana grow 
operation in south Temiskaming this summer.

An estimated 2,000-plus immature cannabis plants growing on private land on 
Road 2 in Cane Township were seized August 31. Police estimated the 
marijuana's street value, had it reached maturity, at $2 million.

No charges have yet been laid in connection with the find.

Investigation is continuing, said Detective Sergeant Bill O'Shea of the 
Ontario Provincial Police's Northeastern drug enforcement section.

The August 31 discovery comes almost two months after some 3,600 marijuana 
plants were found in Kerns Township. A 50-year-old Scarborough man has been 
charged with one count of producing a controlled substance.

It's been a summer of marijuana finds for police in Northeastern Ontario.

The largest seizure in Ontario was discovered late in July when 21,000 
plants were found in the Iroquois Falls area. In early August, plants and 
equipment valued at some $20 million were found near Matheson.

Detective Sergeant O'Shea said about ten operations he would consider 
commercial have been uncovered in the region this year. It's a sign that 
the expanding marijuana industry "has moved North," he said late last week.

"To pinpoint exactly when it happened, I can't say," he said.

He described the local finds as "just part of the larger problem."

He said the Northeast is attractive to outdoor marijuana growers because 
land is relatively inexpensive, remote and fertile.

"All the things you need to make a commercial enterprise -- low overhead 
and a good place to grow," he said.

The Cane Township discovery was the result of a joint investigation 
involving the Temiskaming Ontario Provincial Police and Project Northern 
Gateway, an initiative of the OPP's drug enforcement section.

Detective Sergeant O'Shea said the plants were "well secreted" on the property.

He said police will be contacting the property's owner, who lives in the 
Greater Toronto area.

Meanwhile, he said police will be embarking on the annual marijuana 
eradication program targeting outdoor plots before they reach maturity. 
Depending on their location and growing conditions, the harvest date can 
range from late in August until early October.

But he cautioned the public and property owners against checking suspicious 
areas on their own, and urged them instead to contact police. "We haven't 
found a whole lot of booby traps this year, but in years gone by we have 
found them," he said.

He said property owners also run the risk of a potentially dangerous 
confrontation.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman