GROW-OP BUST YIELDS$6.5M IN POT PLANTS

Twenty-Two Apartments Were Used in Jane St. Building

Oscar Henriquez turned and looked as a Toronto narcotics officer put
a bag of marijuana into a trailer yesterday.

"I recognize that smell," the 52-year-old man said while standing
outside the apartment building he lives in at 2600 Jane St.

But what the neon sign maker didn't know was that the drug squad
found 22 apartments with active grow operations in the 169-unit
building north of Sheppard Ave. Police originally had warrants to
search six apartments in the 13-storey building, but they found
evidence and were tipped about the others.

It's estimated each apartment had about 300 plants worth a total of
about $6.5 million. Two people have been charged, and police expect
further arrests.

"I've never seen such a large or dangerous operation," Drug Squad
Staff-Insp. Don Campbell said. "How could someone not know?"

He said, however, the building's owners and the company that manages
it didn't know about the grow-ops, and helped police in its investigation.

ONE OR MORE

Campbell said it's still not clear whether one organization is
responsible or if there is more than one group.

"Every one looked very similar to each other, most grows do. (But) we
anticipate that it was probably a group that was responsible for all
the grows," Campbell said.

MOULD HAZARDS

He said city inspectors and hydro crews took part in the raids to
inspect the wiring and check for mould hazards in the units. In one
electrical box, the covering of one wire had almost burned through,
Campbell said.

"We got here before anything happened," he said, adding that
firefighters found a grow-op in the building in April when they
responded to a blaze linked to the operation.

Investigators are reviewing rental agreements to determine who leased
the units.

An 18-year-old who lives in the building was shocked at the extent of
the grow-op.

"That's ridiculous. This area has gotten worse and worse as the years
go by," he said.

Henriquez isn't surprised by the extent of the operation found in the
apartments between the fourth and 12th floors.

"I try not to know anybody because I'm afraid of the people here," he
said. "We don't have friends here."

Henriquez points to the driveway in which the police trailer was
parked and said: "There was shooting right there last year. This area
is very dangerous."