MORE THAN 20 MARIJUANA-GROWING OPERATIONS TARGETED BY POLICE
IN LATEST CRACKDOWN

MISSION - A renewed focus on marijuana-growing operations has paid off
for Mission RCMP, who have busted upward of 20 operations in the past
three months.

Since hiring a full-time grow op investigator in the fall, the
detachment has increased its grow-busting ratio almost two-fold.

"Before if you talked to anyone in town, you knew to grow in Mission .
. . it wasn't targeted," said RCMP Sgt. Rhonda Leigh. "Now we're
targeting it and dedicated to it."

Since the start of November, officers have seized more than 15,000 pot
plants and 500-600 pounds of dried bud from Mission homes -- many of
them rented.

Leigh warned homeowners they could be billed for the clean-up of their
renters' grow op -- which usually costs thousands of dollars -- or
potentially have their home seized.

Anyone with information about grow ops in Mission should call police
at 604-826-7161.