POT GREW WITHOUT CLUES - PROMOTER

The people who purchased bungalows in a housing development and grew
marijuana there appeared to be ordinary homebuyers, says the
project's promoter.

Carl Lortie, a Blainville businessman and the promoter behind the
housing development, called Domaine Mon R=D5ve, said yesterday he was
shocked when he heard several marijuana plantations had been
uncovered in houses he helped to sell in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac.

"The cheques were always good. The houses weren't lived in but it
appeared that they were," Lortie said. "I didn't have any problems
with the owners so it's not like I'd go to check whether they were
home."

More than $17 million in marijuana and hydroponic equipment has been
seized from 17 homes in the Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac housing
development since Jan. 9.

Police suspect more houses in the six-street area, near the north
shore of the Lake of Two Mountains, were used to grow marijuana, said
Deux Montagnes regional police spokesman St=BBphane Plante.

Most Not Lived In

In almost all cases, the houses were not lived in and the basements
were either constructed or modified to create the conditions required
to grow marijuana. Police are trying to find out whether the houses
were built to certain specifications or modified after they were
purchased.

The average price of a house recently purchased in the development is
$80,000. The police estimate pot-growers produced $3,000 worth of
marijuana per month in each bungalow.

The police force remains tight-lipped about which biker gang is
behind the sophisticated operation. But police sources have
identified the north chapter of the Rockers, a Hells Angels puppet
gang, as the target of their probe.

A 38-year-old man named in court documents has a criminal record
linking him to a 1998 cocaine distribution network run by the Rockers.

Lortie's company had rented out two of the houses where marijuana
plantations were uncovered. He said he has learned from the
experience. "I never thought anything out of the ordinary was going
on. In some cases the owners had a family with three children."

Lortie added: "I think if people rent their home, they would be
prudent to check that everything is all right, at least once a month."

At least nine of the houses were located on Place de la Tourn=BBe, a
crescent within the development. Lortie said most of the houses on
Place de la Tourn=BBe were sold before they were built. A model home
was constructed on the crescent and a salesman took orders from
buyers.

The owners of the numbered construction company that built the
houses, 9050 1867 Quebec Inc., could not be reached for comment
yesterday but they have previously denied any involvement with
organized crime.