GROW OP RUINS SOUTHEAST HOME

In front of a fence sign reading "Keep off the grass," police and the
hazmat team donned protective, hooded body suits, face masks and oxygen
tanks before raiding one of the most toxic residential pot growing
operations they've ever seen.

The entire ceiling of an Ogden house was swathed in a hairy fur coat of
green and black mould. Webs filled with hundreds of spider mites were spun
in every poisonous corner.

Police searching the unassuming white and grey bungalow at 2503 74th Ave.
S.E. for illegal marijuana plants Wednesday night said the entire house is
ruined and will be condemned.

They removed hundreds of marijuana plants from the basement worth around
$400,000, police said.

"This is by the far the worst residence I've ever seen," said Sgt. Roger
Morrison of the Police drug unit, who added a Crimestoppers tip led the
Calgary police and RCMP "green team" to the house.

Police say the unassuming white and grey bungalow's secret pot plantation
was being operated by an Asian organized crime ring. Charges have not yet
been laid, but police say they are closing in on a suspect.

The smelly garbage strewn about inside and absence of furniture indicate
the house was solely for cultivating the illegal crops and was being
"baby-sat" by drug harvesters, police say.

Police collected about 300 pungent weedy plants from an illegal basement
garden oasis, which was encased with black plastic sheeting and tape to
create a tropical growing climate.

Teenagers and neighbourhood residents gathered on the street corner to
watch the spectacle of firefighters and police removing bag after bag of
black plastic sacks stuffed full of grass. Save for the black mould oozing
out of the house's front, the corner lot bungalow looks like any other
residence -- complete with Christmas lights on its roof.

The culprits were stealing electricity by bypassing the meter, police say.
Attempts to ventilate the air were exceedingly poor, according to police,
who said damp air had mould growing out of control on the plywood ceiling
upstairs.

The moist conditions used to grow the narcotics encourage the growth of
dangerous black mould -- a fungus that causes respiratory damage, and has
been linked to miscarriages and the destruction of brain tissue.

"It's just a very, very nasty house," said Morrison.

City health inspectors have condemned 18 houses since last June, all of
which were too unsafe and unhealthy to live in again.

This year, nearly 14,000 marijuana plants worth $18 million have been seized.

The police drug-bust team, called the Southern Alberta Marijuana
Investigation Team, was formed last December in response to marijuana grow
ops identified across the country as thriving ventures wreaking havoc in
terms of criminal activity, public health and safety.