MAJOR GROW-OPS BUSTED AT TWO HOMES WITH CHILDREN

Police seized substantial quantities of marijuana from two North
Cowichan residences this week, both of which had children living in
them.

One of the marijuana-growing operations found is believed to have ties
to organized crime.

In the first search, North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP went to a new home in
a developing North Cowichan neighbourhood and found the entire lower
level being used for a grow-op. Three independent growing areas were
located, each with plants in different stages of development.

More than 250 plants were seized, along with 14 grow
lights.

A family with infant children was living in the upper portion of the
home. A 32-year-old man was arrested and charges are pending.

In a second, unrelated search, police uncovered a sophisticated,
multi-stage grow-op that took up the lower floor of another home. As
with the first search, a family with children occupied the upstairs.

The second search also revealed a large amount of marijuana ready for
sale and in the process of being commercially packaged -- 4.3
kilograms of marijuana bud that would have yielded over 12,700
marijuana cigarettes or "joints."

Police said it is likely such an amount of marketable product would
require ties to an organized crime group for distribution to other
parts of Canada or into the United States.