THE LITTLE SHOP OF HAPPY GRASS

Pot Lab Was Like A Rainforest

It was like a rainforest squeezed into a basement when Toronto Police found
a hydroponic marijuana lab under a bogus dry-cleaning shop on Weston Rd.

Police said it was a humid 40C inside the 100-plant underground greenhouse,
outfitted with dozens of 1,250-watt bulbs in reflective light fixtures, fans
and an electronic weigh scale.

Sgt. Lawrence Pavan of 11 Division wouldn't say how members of the community
response unit uncovered the lab in a business near Black Creek Rd.

But it was the second big bust by the unit since June 22, when police found
four pounds of marijuana and a gram of heroin in a car parked near Bloor St.
and Symington Ave. Bien Dinh Nguyen, 28, of Hamilton, was charged.

LIKE THE SUN

Sgt. Peter Hardisty said "it was like looking at the sun" under the lighting
system used to grow the "field of dreams."

Pavan said more than $20,000 was seized at the scene and there's other
evidence indicating it was a lucrative operation. The cash was found hidden
in childrens' stuffed toys.

Pavan said while the shop was marked as a dry cleaners -- which always had a
closed sign on the door -- there was nothing inside the storefront to
indicate it was a functioning business.

He said he doesn't know if the operators have any other labs elsewhere in
the city. The suspects allegedly lived above the fake store and remain at
large.

AWARE OF SEIZURE

"We believe they are aware of our seizure ... and we're hoping that they'll
surrender to the police," said Pavan.

Drug-related warrants were issued for Kim Xuan Ta, 47, Anh Tuan Ta, 20, Cham
Thi Bui, 43, and Thi Hong Bui, 26.

Meanwhile, Oshawa firefighters pulled the plug on a family-run marijuana
hydroponics lab after they were called Wednesday to deal with smoke filling
a home.

Durham Regional Police Sgt. Jim Grimley said a cooking pot which boiled dry
eventually led firefighters to a smoking pot lab of 700 plants basking under
high-powered lights in the basement of the Outlet Dr. home around 9:20 a.m.

Police were called in and one man was arrested as he arrived home two hours
later. His brother and mom were arrested when they came home after noon.

Michael Carter, 27, his brother Robert, 29, and mother Margaret, 63, are
charged with several drug-related offences.