POT SQUAD TASK FORCE BUSTS GROWERS

Operation has led to 356 people charged. Despite police effort,
marijuana production remains rampant in Laurentians, Lanaudiere

Lush with trees and shrubbery, 42nd Ave. in Bois des Filion sits calm
and quiet, not unlike most neighbourhoods in this small town just
north of Laval.

But the calm was shattered on March 11 as heavily armed police broke
down the door of a house on the avenue. Inside they found 477
marijuana plants and a small quantity of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The drugs were estimated to be worth more than $450,000.

It was another good day for the officers of Project Charlemagne.

Formed in September 2001, Project Charlemagne has made life harder for
marijuana growers in the Laurentians and Lanaudiere regions, north of
Montreal.

Assigned to the task force on a permanent basis are 12 officers from
the RCMP's St. Jerome detachment, the Blainville, Mirabel, Deux
Montagnes, St. Jerome, Terrebonne, Bois des Filion and Ste. Anne des
Plaines police departments, and the Mashteuiatsh and Listuguj
aboriginal police.

As of March 1, the task force has executed 242 search warrants and
seized 128,418 marijuana plants, 335 kilograms of bulk marijuana, 518
kilograms of "shakes" (the stems and leaves of marijuana plants) and
1.5 kilograms of hashish, as well as $97,969 in cash, more than 100
firearms, two commercial buildings and one house. As a result, 257 men and
99 women have been charged.

The RCMP estimates each marijuana plant is worth $1,000, meaning the
task force has taken more than $128 million worth of grass off the streets.

The key to the group's success is partnership among the participating
police forces, said RCMP Sgt. Rick Martel, Project Charlemagne's unit
commander.

"The RCMP would not have had this kind of success by itself," he said.

RCMP Cpl. Martin Gauthier also stresses the importance of
co-operation. The officers from the various departments bring
different ideas and perspectives to the unit, he says.

The task force averages four searches a week, Martel said, and takes a
"tactical approach" to every raid. For safety reasons, the officers
will enter a building with guns drawn, securing the area as quickly and
safely as possible.

When children are in a house to be searched, the task force will
approach the location differently. They'll knock on the door, identify
themselves, and keep the situation as calm and safe for the children as
possible, Martel said.

"No two raids are the same," Gauthier said. "You always have to be
careful and on edge at all times."

Aside from dismantling cannabis greenhouses, the task force also
gathers and filters the information it receives from surveillance
work, informants and a toll free tip line set up for the project.

But despite the hard work of the officers of Project Charlemagne,
marijuana production remains rampant. The profits to be made from the
growing and trafficking of the drug are tremendous.

About 75 per cent of the cannabis produced in the province is exported to
the United States, Gauthier said.

Most marijuana-growing operations in the area are linked to organized
crime, specifically motorcycle gangs, Gauthier said. Their operations
are well-organized, he says, "and most of the time, the guy we arrest
is just a babysitter," paid an hourly wage by gangsters to take care
of the marijuana plants. Sacrificing the small fry allows the higher
level criminals to avoid arrest.

And those who are arrested often receive just "a slap on the hand,"
minor punishments like house arrest, Gauthier said.

With such lax penalties for cannabis growers, Gauthier said, "I'm
laughing - and so are they."

Project Charlemagne's toll-free tip line is 1-(888)-771-6673. All
calls are confidential.