SITE OF LARGEST POT GROW-OP SEIZED BY B.C. GOVERNMENT

The site of the largest marijuana grow-op ever seized is now in the
hands of the provincial government.

RCMP raided the one-hectare property on Cedar Creek Road in the
Cariboo community of Likely in November 2006 and found 5,566 marijuana
plants, Const. Craig Douglass of the RCMP's North District said
yesterday. The property was recently assessed at $293,200.

Two Lower Mainland men were convicted earlier this year on production
charges and were handed one-year sentences.

The grow-op could have produced 22,000 plants a year.

"Pretty much every room in that house was converted to have pot plants
except for the kitchen and a small bedroom where they had a mattress
on the floor," said Douglass.

Police also found 137 high-intensity grow lamps and unapproved wiring
to power them, creating serious safety issues, said Douglass.

"Certainly, it's organized crime," said Douglass.

"But who is up the ladder, we're not sure."

He said marijuana grow-ops are a problem in Likely, which has a
population of about 250.

"This group has more than one [grow-op] in there,"
said Douglass, adding prosecutors are working on a larger case involving
other properties and other people, but have yet to approve charges.

The property was forfeited to the province in a court ruling and will
be sold, with proceeds paid to the province under the two-year-old
civil-forfeiture act.

The province has seen more than $4 million in cash, vehicles and other
property forfeited.

"No community wants grow-ops and their various, associated dangers,"
said Solicitor-General John van Dongen.

"We're working hard with police to take away instruments of unlawful
activity and, in turn, its profitability."