DRUG CRIME EATS AT CALGARY

Grow Ops Rot Communities

A 15-year-old is found overseeing an indoor marijuana grow operation.
Separately, 18 houses are condemned by the Calgary Health Region because of
damage from indoor grow ops.

The stark examples of how the crime is exploding in Calgary keep on
growing. Police Chief Jack Beaton told Global News of the case that best
points to the extent grow operators will go to: last December officers
found the 15-year-old running a grow op.

Beaton said the boy, whose name cannot be released by law, taunted police
by telling them he knew of two other grow operations -- but that they would
never find them.

It's almost a daily job busting grow operations for police. Friday
afternoon, police raided a house in the 100 block of Del Ray Crescent N.E.
and seized more than 392 plants with a street value estimated at $450,000.

The damage is often extensive to houses used as gardens of crime. Each of
the 18 houses condemned by the CHR since last June was overrun with
chemicals and gases, and was structurally too dangerous to live in,
according to inspectors with the region's environmental health unit.

"When these places are shut down, our concern is that they are then fixed
up before someone else moves in," said John Pelton, director of
environmental health. "You have to condemn (it) until all repairs are done."

Along with deeming the homes unfit to live in, inspectors also notify the
city's land titles department of major health hazards lurking within the
structure's walls.

The intent is to stop unsuspecting home buyers or renters from ending up
with a property filled with chemical leftovers and structural damage.

Concerned about the increasing number of marijuana grow ops, the Calgary
Real Estate Board is considering rules that would require sellers to
disclose if their property has ever housed an illegal drug operation.

Marijuana grow operations produce huge amounts of moisture and humidity
that infiltrates ceilings, drywall and destroys panelling.

Such conditions are prime for the growth of black mould -- a fungus that
causes respiratory damage, and has been linked to miscarriages and the
destruction of brain tissue.

Pelton has seen "huge masses" of fungus dangling from ceilings in Calgary
homes he has later condemned.

"Mould is probably the biggest problem that's left behind," he said.

Law enforcement officials don't take any chances when they enter a home
suspected of harbouring a grow op. The house is thoroughly ventilated
before officers attempt to dismantle the operation.

Hazardous materials masks are worn at all times and gloves are mandatory.

A group approach, including partnerships with the local health region,
Health Canada, the Calgary fire Department, Enmax, Calgary Real Estate
Board, and other policing agencies, is the only way to put a dent in the
problem, said Staff Sgt. Trevor Daroux of the Calgary police drug unit.

"This isn't solely a policing issue. We rely heavily on these types of
agencies," he said. "The problem is getting bigger and we've enhanced our
ability to investigate this."

Friday afternoon's raid uncovered a three-stage operation. One bedroom in
the home had been converted into a soil-based pot farm, as had the entire
basement of the house.