DRUG TRADE USES STOLEN FURNACES

A growing number of illegal drug operations in Calgary are using
furnaces stolen from homes under construction.

Most of the stolen furnaces are being installed in homes being
renovated, but city police believe a percentage of them are finding
their way into the city's burgeoning home-based drug industry.

"We think burner units from some of these furnaces are being used to
cook methamphetamines," said District 2 Staff Sergeant Gord Sands said
following the unveiling of a new police-homebuilding industry
initiative to reduce theft from construction sites.

Marijuana grow ops are using the furnaces as a source of additional
heat to stimulate plant production.

Between November 2003 and the end of this February, more than 40
furnaces were stolen from homes under construction.

Sands said police statistics from the previous two years show that
furnace thefts have been increasing at a rate of 100 per cent each
year.

"In the first three months of this year, furnace thefts have already
reached 50 per cent of last year's total," he added.

For the comparable period, police seized an estimated $26 million
worth of marijuana -- half of what was taken in all of 2003 when more
than 100 homes were raided. In 2002, $18 million worth of plants were
destroyed in police takedowns.

"A strong secondary market exists in Calgary and other jurisdictions
for stolen furnaces, many of which are believed to be destined for
renovated homes in the Calgary area and elsewhere," said Sands.

Furnaces are just one target for thieves hitting construction sites.
For much of this year, police have dealt with at least one theft from
a jobsite a day.

Thieves are taking everything from refrigerators and dishwashers to
stoves and washer-and-dryer units. Many items are stolen from sites
before they are even removed from their boxes.

In partnership with the Calgary Region Home Builders Association and
the City of Calgary, the police have unveiled the Hot Furnace
Anti-Theft program in an effort to reduce the number of furnaces being
taken from unfinished, unoccupied new homes.

Just prior to the announcement of the program, police received reports
that three more furnaces had been stolen in a couple of developing
northeast communities the night before.

Under the new anti-theft program, city inspectors will record the
serial number of the furnace being inspected for proper installation
in new and existing homes.

A database will be created and shared with the police department's
stolen property unit, so when a furnace is reported stolen it becomes
traceable.

"We're not going to stop the thefts, but it gives us the ability to
track the stolen furnaces -- and gives the bad guys something else to
think about," said Sands.

In addition to reducing the level of jobsite thefts, Sands also said
there is a safety-related risk for consumers who may be living in a
home with a furnace that has not been installed correctly and not
inspected by the city.

"We don't want people dying, being injured, or losing their home to
fire because of an incorrectly installed furnace," he said.