MAPLE RIDGE GOING TO POT

A fire that broke out in the garage of a home in the 21300-block of Dewdney
Trunk Road sent local firefighters rushing to save what turned out to be a
marijuana grown operation.

Witnesses said the flames shot through a hydro line and set a pole across
the street on fire as well.

Firefighters at the Sunday night fire, cut a hole into the garage door
while attempting to extinguish the fire.

It didn't take long for those on scene to realize a faulty pot growing
operation in the garage was probably the cause of the fire.

Police were called in, and a man believed to be the resident of the rented
home was taken away in a squad car.

By Monday morning, members of the Ridge Meadows RCMP strike force team were
at the house with a search warrant and confirmed the home was being used to
grow marijuana.

Police officers found approximately 250 plants in the garage and in another
area of the home.

After several hours at the scene of the bust taking inventory and
photographs, the strike force team loaded police vehicles with hydroponics
equipment and plants under the watchful eyes of two dogs in the back yard
of the home.

The name of the resident living there was not released. Charges of
production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of
trafficking were expected.

Just one day before, local RCMP general duty members were responding to a
routine call when they stumbled on what police are calling a "huge"
marijuana grow operation. The officers found pot plants in a house, work
shop and three commercial-size greenhouses at the rear of a property police
would only describe as being somewhere in Maple Ridge.

A 46-year-old man was arrested and charged with production and possession
for the purpose of trafficking. Approximately 2,308 marijuana plants worth
close to $2 million were found.

Two more local drug busts were made by police since Friday.

On Saturday, the RCMP had a warrant to take a look at a residence in the
22300-block of 122 Avenue in Maple Ridge they suspected of being a
marijuana grow operation. They were right. Approximately 300 pot plants and
grow equipment worth $75,000 was found in two rooms of the residence. A
46-year-old man was arrested and charged.

On Friday, another bust resulted in seven arrests at a home in the
12100-block of 223 Street. The police were responding to "ongoing
complaints of drug trafficking" at the home, said Corp. Dave Walsh of the
Ridge Meadows RCMP.

"Two RCMP members were pricked with contaminated needles and are undergoing
a cycle of drugs to prevent any development of any medical complications,"
he added in his press release.

Eight strike force members were on the scene. A small quantity of cocaine
was seized along with scales, drug recording sheets and packaging.

Four people were charged with possession for trafficking, two were held on
unrelated outstanding warrant charges and the others were released for
court at a later date, said Walsh.