Pubdate: Wed, 16 Mar 2005
Source: Review, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005 Osprey Media Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2907
Author: Greg Furminger
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

HUGE GROW-OP UP IN SMOKE

Wainfleet Greenhouse Fire Reveals Marijuana Valued At $5m To $6m

WAINFLEET - A running garden hose, a spent fire extinguisher and a massive 
of marijuana - worth upwards of $5 million - is what was left behind at 
Wainfleet greenhouses that weren't used for a cucumber farm, as a sign out 
front instead suggests to passersby.

Niagara Regional Police early Tuesday morning were summoned to one of the 
area's largest pot discoveries in years after an alert trucker spotted 
flames coming from the plastic-enclosed structures at the rear of a 
two-storey farmhouse on Highway 3, about six kilometres west of Chambers 
Corners near Sider Road.

While a sign out front from a defunct business suggests the farm is where 
English cucumbers are grown, firefighters learned otherwise and called police.

Media relations officer Const. Sal Basilone said inside two-thirds of a 
series of about 14 long, conjoined greenhouses were found with between 
5,000 and 6,000 marijuana plants in various stages of growth and worth an 
estimated street value of between $5 million and $6 million.

The "fairly large-scale" marijuana was grown under thousands of low-hung, 
high-intensity lights inside the buildings at the rear of an older farmhouse.

Basilone said detectives from the regional police morality unit are 
expected to remain on scene for the next two days before the operation is 
dismantled.

It was a passing truck driver who called in the report of fire at 53634 
Hwy. 3 and to which firefighters were first dispatched at 2:14 a.m.

At least one person is believed to have fled the scene just prior to the 
arrival of firefighters.

"We found one discarded fire extinguisher and a garden hose still running 
on the ground, which indicates they may have tried to put (the fire) out," 
Port Colborne and Wainfleet fire Chief Tom Cartwright told reporters.

He said the fire appears to have been caused by an electrical short in a 
diesel-powered generator, one of two power supply units housed in an 
insulated room constructed within one greenhouse unit.

Cartwright said it was designed to keep noise muffled from neighbours.

According to Township of Wainfleet records, the property - three kilometres 
west of the community of Winger - has been listed as owned by MKJ 
Greenhouses since 2003. The name appears on a sign nearby the driveway, 
accompanied by the words "English cucumbers."

Osprey News has learned that not long ago the property was promoted for 
sale in a full-colour brochure called Opportunities in Niagara's Greenhouse 
Economy and produced by Niagara Economic and Tourism Corp., the non-profit 
economic development arm of the regional government.

No one from NETCorp was available to comment on the property's detailed 
history, but a source said the greenhouses had been used for growing proper 
cucumbers before the buildings were rented out. The property slipped into 
receivership.

Mayor Gord Harry said news of the marijuana discovery was "shocking" and a 
"surprise." He said police told him they were unaware the operation existed 
prior to Tuesday's fire.

"People have been asking me, 'Is it because farmers have been having a 
difficult time?' I really don't believe that's the case," Harry said.

"I just believe somebody's done it and thought they'd make a fast dollar 
and get away with it."

Basilone was not prepared Tuesday night to release details on any suspects 
and could not say for certain if more than one person is being sought.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth