URBAN MYTH SEES FOUR ARRESTED FOR GROWING POT

Surrey police are thanking a bizarre urban legend for leading them to a
house filled with marijuana plants.

A woman accidentally called police early Tuesday morning because her son
told her dialing an extra one after 911 would connect her with a taped
message explaining whether or not police officers were tapping her phones.

The 60-year-old woman hung up once she realized she had actually reached
the police. Officers, concerned there might be an emergency at the house,
quickly showed up at her door in the 15100 block of 60th Avenue.

Inside, police discovered "a reasonably sized" marijuana growing
operation," said Constable Tim Shields of the Surrey RCMP. Police took four
people into custody -- the woman, a 61-year-old man, a 55-year-old man and
a third man who had turned 60 that day.

"He had a large birthday party planned for that night with out-of-town
guests," said Shields. "They started to show up at Surrey detachment,
asking us to have him released so he could make it to his party."

Police released all four by 9 p.m. -- just in time for the birthday party
- -- on a promise to appear in court.

Shields is urging people not to dial call 9-1-1-1 because it will only tie
up lines intended for helping people in real emergencies. It may be an
urban legend, but dialing the number won't help you figure out if your
phones are tapped, he said.

It's unclear if the woman was under the influence of any drugs when she
called police, he added.