RUPERT COPS RAID TOMATO GROW-OP

Red-faced drug cops looking for a marijuana grow-op came up with a
tomato grow-op instead.

Prince Rupert commercial fisherman Bruce Aleksich said yesterday that
about 15 Mounties burst into his business last Thursday, only to find
400 tomato plants in various stages of growth.

After a bleak spring, Aleksich decided to grow the tomatoes under lights.

He has recently been rotating the tomatoes between the indoors and outdoors.

When RCMP arrived at about 9 p.m., Aleksich told them he was a good
gardener with nothing but tasty tomatoes in the building.

Despite his edible alibi, Aleksich, two employees and two visitors
were forced to the ground. "They had us on the floor for over an
hour," he said. "All of us were cuffed. I don't know how it got to
the point where guns were drawn."

After finding the tomatoes, the cops checked all the vehicles for
drugs, Aleksich said. Aleksich said he has heard nothing from the
RCMP about their mistake.

"You'd think they would be embarrassed," he said. "I just wanted them
to say it was a mistake. People now assume I was growing marijuana."

Aleksich said his two visitors, a friend from Victoria and his
girlfriend, were looking at real estate. "I don't think he's going to
buy land here after that," said Aleksich.