Pubdate: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 Source: Metro, The (CN MB) Copyright: 2012 The Metro Contact: http://www.canstarnews.com/page/paper/the_metro Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3558 Page: 3 Author: Chinta Puxley GROW-OPS ON THE RISE IN MANITOBA, MOUNTIES SAY Police are doing what they can to attack the organized criminals behind the drug trade, as well as growers and traffickers, RCMP say One of Canada's top Mounties says more drug traffickers from across Canada are setting up elaborate and sophisticated grow-ops in rural Manitoba bankrolled by organized crime. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bill Robinson says the province's Mounties took 15,000 marijuana plants last year in just over 1,000 seizures. That's double from the year before. He says much of the pot was grown in sophisticated greenhouses in rural locations and was destined for streets across Canada. Some of it was genetically modified to produce "super-trees" rather than regular marijuana plants. The increasing number of non-residents arrested suggests a crackdown on drugs in other provinces is driving criminals to set up shop in rural Manitoba, Robinson said in a briefing Friday. "We're seeing the end product of a lot of enforcement that's taking place in other parts of the country," he said. "In Manitoba, of course, we're a rural province. We've got lots of land. We've got some very isolated locations with old farmyards where people can set up. "If you can grow 3,500 marijuana super-trees in greenhouses in a rural location versus a small basement in the north end (of Winnipeg), where are you going to go? You are going to go into a location where you are making the biggest bang for your buck." - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart