COPS SEIZE $15 MILLION IN DRUGS

Police had to rent moving vans to haul away $15 million worth of
marijuana plants and hydroponic equipment seized in raids north of
Montreal.

Ten days ago, Deux-Montagnes police began investigating a
marijuana-producing ring centred in a housing development in
Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, a community on Lake of Two Mountains, north
of le Bizard.

They began raiding 12 houses on Wednesday, and conducted raids on
other houses in the same neighbourhood yesterday, police spokesman
Stephane Plante said.

Marijuana was being grown in the houses and then sold, police said.

"All the basements of the houses were equipped with hydroponic
equipment and they were growing marijuana," Plante said yesterday.

Four people had been arrested by yesterday afternoon and police were
seeking others, he said.

Late yesterday evening, police recovered additional plants and
equipment during two more raids.

"It's possible (the raids) will continue," Plante said. "Every day so
far we thought we were finished, and we found more each time."

Police chief Normand Mastromatteo said the people running the
operation are well known in the small community, but the raids struck
at "the head" of the group.

Plante said the height of the plants led investigators to believe the
greenhouses had been there at least two months.

Some of the houses were empty, but families with children were living
in the others. People were seen going to the empty houses to tend to
the plants, Plante said.

Deux-Montagnes police speculate the marijuana production is linked to
organized crime, given the setup discovered in the houses, Plante
said.

Most of the raided houses were located at the end of two streets and
had been set up to contain the marijuana operation. "They installed
ducts to get rid of humidity in the basements and move it to the
roof," Plante said. "This was a well-structured organization."

Police carted away plants worth about $1,000 each, as well as
hydroponic growing equipment, including lights, fans and pipes.

More than half the police department's 40 employees have been working
on the investigation and the raids, Plante said.