GROWERS BOOBY TRAP FIELDS TO KEEP OUT 'POT PIRATES'

OTTAWA - An Increasing Number of People Armed With High-Powered Guns
and Booby Traps Are Protecting Marijuana Grow Operations From
Thieves, or "Pot Pirates," According to Police in Ontario.

Traps such as nails driven into weighted wooden boards and suspended
overhead in trees, and spikes attached to tied-back tree saplings,
are being found during police investigations, Det. Supt. Frank Elbers
of the Ontario Provincial Police drug enforcement section said Thursday.

Weapons are often meant to protect lucrative grow operations from
raiders, but they have raised concerns about the safety of police
officers and residents, Elbers said.

"The traps we saw in the past, (used) more to lightly wound or scare
someone off, have turned into security measures," he said, adding one
OPP officer was injured during an investigation by stepping on a
hidden nail-covered board at a growing operation west of Ottawa.

"I don't think they're out for police, but booby traps don't distinguish."

Officers are also finding "everything from machetes to machine-guns"
used for protection, Elbers said.

Police have also found bunker-type hideouts and bulletproof vests.

Police cited examples of an apparent trend toward weapons.

The OPP have investigated 3,000 grow operations and destroyed 1.2
million plants since 2001, Elbers said. People who suspect grow ops
should not investigate themselves but call police.