Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jan 2017
Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Metro
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032
Author: Haley Ritchie
Page: 3

POT SHOP RAIDED ON FRIDAY, BACK IN BUSINESS MONDAY

Police say have to get warrant again to shut down a store

Despite a raid on Chinatown's Cannabotanix Dispensary at 646 Somerset
St. Friday that saw two people arrested, the shop was back to normal
operations Monday.

The employee inside the shop said she couldn't talk about the raid and
said to call the owner.

A chalkboard in the entrance lists the owner's name as "Grant" and a
number to call in case of any problems. The number goes straight to
voicemail and has a 520 area code indicating the Victoria area.

The store appears to be a sister location for another shop in
Centretown. The sign out front indicates the shop is called
Cannabotanix Dispensary, but signs in the window read Sylk Medy Dispensary.

A number of other shops in Ottawa that have been raided have since
reopened.

Police can't automatically shut down a store after a raid - if they
have evidence that operations are continuing, they have to begin the
warrant process again.

"There's a lot involved in getting a warrant, whether it's having it
signed or getting evidence towards having it signed. For the court
purposes we need a lot of specific information to get it signed, so it
can take a lot of time and we can't discuss those techniques," said
police spokesperson Cst. Chuck Benoit, based on information from Staff
Sgt. Rick Carey.

"As a police service we investigate any criminal activities, so if it
restarts into illegal activity inside then we move forward with what
we've been doing in the past year," he said.

On Friday police arrested two adults - a man and a woman - inside the
shop. They are both facing multiple drug trafficking charges. Police
also seized marijuana, THC edibles, THC gummies, THC pills, cellphones
and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police haven't been identifying the people charged after the shops are
raided. Benoit said that step isn't to protect those charged but to
"keep the integrity of the investigation."

"They're being charged. They're doing an illegal activity. It is an
ongoing investigation, it's continuous. We're not done investigating
all these shops," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt