DRUG COPS CAREFUL TO SIZE UP SUSPECTS

Kelowna RCMP provided a glimpse into how the Green Team operates with
the release of a video shot during one of the recent raids.

Sgt. Tim Shields, head of the drug enforcement unit, said police will
act on a tip about a grow house by trying to provide the
corroborating evidence necessary to obtain a search warrant.

"We never execute a warrant on a tip alone," he said.

"We want to ensure the address is correct first."

Shields said police will conduct surveillance of the house in
question before applying for a warrant.

"We want to know who owns the house and is there any evidence we can
observe from outside the house, front, back and sides," he said.

"We may use thermal imaging to see if there are any hot walls on the
house. We'll also check to see if the person in the house has a
criminal record."

Only then, Shields said, will the drug squad plan and execute a raid.
"Before every search warrant we execute, we have a safety briefing
for the officers involved," he said. "We want to know who the
suspects are, what kind of weapons we might expect and what kind of
fortifications we may encounter inside."

When they do decide to act, Shields said most grow house operators
never see it coming.

"We use unconvential unmarked vehicles. You would never be able to
tell the vehicles we drive are police cars," he said.

"We arrive en masse and with force with guns drawn.

"Safety is our number one concern when we execute a search warrant."

Using a battering ram to open the door, police will quickly pile into
the house and fan out, searching room by room. "Our first priority is
to search the house and make sure there are no people inside to
ensure the safety of our officers," Shields said.

If arrests are made, the people must be transported to RCMP
headquarters and processed. Depending on the size of the operation,
besides extensive wiring, police will often find extensive venting
and air conditioning systems to deal with the heat the growing
equipment gives off.

"The wiring is incredible and it's not inspected," he said. "Circuits
are overloaded when the wiring heats up. The danger we see is
incredible and that is the reason why we have to take this as a serious issue."

After the raid, everything in the house related to the grow operation
is catalogued and then the whole thing is dismantled. "Everything
goes into an exhibit flow chart and will be presented as evidence at
a trial when the person arrested is charged with production of a
controlled substance," added Shields.