FIVE UPSCALE HOMES BUSTED IN POT RAIDS

The views are stunning, the houses in the half-million-dollar range and the
amenities -- schools, recreation, shopping -- seem endless.

As the brochure for the new ParkLane community of Heritage Woods puts it,
"Life on the Ridge is a vision of all that a neighbourhood can offer."

And then some, according to the Port Moody police who raided the
neighbourhood in a bust that netted more than $1 million worth of marijuana
from five houses almost within spitting distance of each other.

"It just shows the progression of the industry, where they've moved from
east Vancouver neighbourhoods to tony communities," said Const. Brian Soles.
"It stretches across the stratosphere of wealth and poverty."

Soles was on hand yesterday as officers loaded the more than 390 kilograms
of seized pot into a truck before heading off to an incinerator. The bust
marks the first time police have used Port Moody's new Controlled Substance
Property Bylaw to crack down on grow-operators.

Police say charges are pending in the operation, in which officers targeted
three homes on one street in Heritage Woods, two homes on a nearby street
and one other about 10 minutes away.

Electrician Mark Dalling was at one of the homes yesterday afternoon,
repairing damage to bring the house back up to code.

"They've been upscaling quite a lot," said Dalling. "A lot of the ones we're
seeing are up into the higher price range."

Police elsewhere in the Lower Mainland have noticed the trend by growers to
buy expensive properties to grow marijuana -- sometimes in very trendy
neighbourhoods.

RCMP in Surrey are holding nine homes, each valued in excess of $300,000, as
proceeds of crime and hope their disposal will hit the crooks in the pocket
book.

Busts also have been made in places like British Properties. In one recent
bust, police nailed a chiropractor with a grow-op.

Neighbours of the grow operations in Port Moody were stunned at the number.
In some cases, children were present. In most, the occupants were rarely
home.

"We all have children and the threat of fires and the element it brings to
the community is a worry," said one woman. "We're all brand new here. We've
all lived here for three or four months. We've not gotten to know each
other."

Under the bylaw, the city will directly bill the homeowners instead of
taxpayers for police costs.

ParkLane's chief operating officer Ross Hanson also was stunned by the
busts.

"They seemingly get mortgages and they're arranging their financing with
big-name banks," said Hanson. "On the face of it, they're like any other
purchaser.

"We take great pride in our neighbourhoods. It's a real bloody insult."