Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Paul Cherry Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) 95 ARRESTED IN HUGE DRUG SWEEP Police Launch 'Operation Borax'; Raids Target Marijuana Growers, Firms Supplying Gear And Expertise More than 95 people were arrested yesterday in a major police operation that not only targeted marijuana growers and dealers but also the people alleged to supply the equipment and expertise to grow pot hydroponically. Initially, the Surete du Quebec said more than 200 people were sought on warrants in Operation Borax. But by late yesterday afternoon they announced they managed to arrest only fewer than half that number. When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the provincial police force was unable to explain how so many people avoided arrest. Details on the operation are expected to be released at a news conference today. More than 800 police officers from the SQ, RCMP, Montreal police and various municipal forces took part in the operation. Besides the arrests, they carried out more than 50 search warrants in and around Montreal. A dozen of the warrants were executed at garden supply stores in Montreal and Laval that specialize in hydroponic equipment used to grow plants indoors. "This operation followed an investigation that began in 2005 relative to the discovery of a large-scale production of marijuana. The activities of the network gravitated around a dozen garden equipment businesses," the SQ said in a release. Thi Duong Le, 51, of St. Leonard, was one of 90 people named in a 12-page indictment filed at the Montreal courthouse yesterday. He is listed on the Quebec business registry as owner of the TTN Garden Equipment Centre on Langelier Blvd. The store was one of the 12 police searched yesterday. The indictment lists a total of 75 charges alleging both the production and trafficking of marijuana. Two Montreal residents, Kevin Mai, 34, and Thuy Huong Nguyen, 30, are also charged with counselling people to commit a crime that did not take place Many of the people who appeared before a judge at the Montreal courthouse yesterday - via a video linkup with a holding cell in the Montreal police North Operations Centre - were accused of being involved in small groups, composed of three to nine people, alleged to have conspired to traffic in marijuana in 2007 and 2008. Several of the accused required the services of a Vietnamese interpreter. Most were released after agreeing to post deposits for bail between $1,500 and $5,000 and to follow a series of conditions. - - In Quebec City yesterday, police launched a similar operation that targeted marijuana growers based in and around the provincial capital. Eleven people were arrested in an investigation dubbed Project Absent, a probe into marijuana grow-ops found in houses. Two people from Montreal were included among those arrested yesterday morning. A third Montreal resident is wanted on a warrant issued in that investigation. According to SQ Sgt. Joyce Kemp, the two investigations were conducted independent of each other. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom