Pubdate: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 Source: Lindsay Daily Post (CN ON) Copyright: 2006 Lindsay Daily Post Contact: http://www.thepost.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2333 Author: Jason Bain BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR MARIJUANA GROW OPS A worn path winds its way into rural farmland. On a secluded, seldom-used dirt road, a mysterious vehicle sits parked. Someone unfamiliar carries garden tools out of the forest. These could all be signs of a marijuana grow operation and as September approaches, Ontario Provincial Police are asking you to be their eyes and ears when it comes to flushing out the crime. "Everything is fully grown and people will be getting ready to harvest it," Const. Mark Boileau said, referring to the narcotic-yielding plants which are usually harvested starting around the middle of next month. Although the City of Kawartha Lakes detachment's media relations officer said statistics remain about the same as previous years, the OPP remain vigilant in cracking down on marijuana grows, be they indoors or out. In 2005, eradication efforts of the Kawartha Combined Drug Forces Drug Unit led to the seizure of 12,443 plants valued at over $12 million across its coverage area, which includes the City of Kawartha Lakes. Those statistics do not include indoor operations or those found during regular police activities, Boileau noted. The drug unit has already uncovered a significant grow operation this year, finding about $2.5 million in mature plants on a property north of Bobcaygeon on Kawartha Lakes Road 121 in Galway-Cavendish & Harvey Township Tuesday morning. Two men were charged. Officers with the drug unit - which now includes an officer from the local municipal service - are focusing on drug eradication efforts and using intelligence gained in the previous months to search out growing operations, whether on foot or by helicopter flyovers, Boileau said. That said, you can help out by phoning police if you see any of the many signs of a illegal activity, he added. Bags of soil or fertilizer left on a property, perhaps placed near a trail or gate, fresh trails or fences or gates altered to allow passage, cars parked in areas at strange hours and stashes of garden tools are all indicative of the illegal activity, Boileau explained. For example, if someone suspicious coming out of the bush tells you they were checking their minnow trap, maybe you shouldn't take their word, he said. Most importantly, if you do spot something suspicious, you are not to act on the information yourself, Boileau said, particularly since you don't know if the operation is being guarded by gun-wielding suspects, which has been seen locally in the past. "Don't act on it. You don't know what dangers lie in there. If people have money invested in a grow operation, you don't know what they can do," Boileau said. Last year, OPP busted several grow operations near Norland. At the end of September, police seized over $7 million in pot - about 7,000 plants - between two separate locations bordering swamp land near Head Lake. Organized crime was cited in the bust of a $3-million drug growing and processing operation that resulted in 19 individuals being charged in October of 2004. In September of 2003, an operation worth an estimated $18 million was discovered near Coboconk; suspects, police said, impersonated officers in an attempt to steal the crop for themselves. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D