THE CASE OF THE VANISHING POT PLANTS

RCMP in Alberta are trying to figure out how the stash found at a marijuana
grow operation disappeared when police guards left the scene.

The grow operation was revealed to police Thursday when a fire broke out at
an abandoned farm near Holden, about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton.
Volunteer firefighters found the marijuana in a farm building and alerted
the RCMP.

Police arrived at 11 p.m. Thursday and taped off the building before
returning to the detachment to get a search warrant. When they went back at
11 a.m. Friday, the marijuana plants were gone.

"An inquiry is being conducted into what was done and what was not," said
RCMP Corporal Peter Nobles.

Holden Mayor Ivan Hrabec, who was one of the volunteer firefighters who
made the pot discovery, suggested police should have stayed on guard.

Hrabec said firefighters went back to the scene Friday morning when hay
bales began smouldering. He said they noticed someone had driven through
the police tape.

"In retrospect, some people might say it would have been a good idea for
the RCMP to have stayed put until a larger contingent could come out and
remove the plants," Hrabec said.