EXTRA POLICE TO HELP FIGHT MARIJUANA GROW-OPS

Landlords and residents were urged to help battle what Richmond Mayor Greg
Halsey-Brandt described as the "alarming proliferation" of marijuana grow
operations in the city.

RCMP Insp. Allan Speevak said he suspects about three-quarters of the 77
hyrdroponic operations shut down last year are linked, although he could
not name any criminal gangs suspected of masterminding the illegal efforts.

Halsey-Brandt called a press conference Wednesday morning where he
announced initiatives to further raise public awareness about the illegal
activity.

He said rental houses turned marijuana greenhouses are endangering police
and fire crews because some are booby-trapped with electrified door handles
and loaded guns set up with trip wires.

Their presence in a neighbourhood drives down property values and results
in fires that in the past three years alone have caused nearly $1 million
damage. In addition to stealing electricity, criminals who set up these
hidden plantations are often arrested carrying loaded weapons and are using
the money generated by the marijuana crop to fund criminal gangs.

"It is time we get serious about marijuana operations," Halsey-Brandt told
reporters.

Halsey-Brandt provided police-generated statistics that indicate a sharp
increase this year in the number of grow operations busted by local police.

So far in 2000, there have been 72 marijuana grow ops discovered by police,
compared to 77 during all of 1999. That puts local police on pace to shut
down 200 operations for the year, which would amount to more than in all of
1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 combined.

During a province-wide crackdown on pot grow ops earlier this month, police
arrested 96 people, seized 14,000 plants worth an estimated $8.2 million
and several weapons including rifles and shotguns. Since February, 40
children have been apprehended and turned over to social services.

"This is certainly organized crime in action," Halsey-Brandt said.

But when a reporter asked Halsey-Brandt whether the increase in grow ops
may simply be explained by more police enforcement and more tips from the
public, he agreed that could be part of the explanation.However, he
believes there are more marijuana operations in Richmond now than ever before.

The city is holding an information forum for property owners and landlords
on Tuesday, May16, at 7 p.m. at the new city hall on No. 3 Road. It will
attempt to educate residents on telltale signs of a possible grow
operation, such as boarded up windows, a skunky smell in the air and
humming noises that may emanate from a motorized fan. Absentee landlords
are asked to keep a closer eye on their properties. Local police, insurance
crime prevention representatives, BC Hydro officials along with a member
from the Attorney General's residential tenancy branch will also be in
attendance.

In an effort to address these concerns, the city has increased its budget
to fund 10 additional RCMP members and one additional BlockWatch member.

Police currently receive between 15 and 20 reports of suspected grow ops
each week, Speevak said. All but three of the 72 grow ops busted so far
this year were found in rental houses.

Speevak said there has been no indication of threats, intimidation or
retaliation as a result of grow-op tips and emphasized that police deal
with public tips in a discrete manner.

The booby traps found in some grow operations were designed to keep people
from breaking in, but present a danger to police who may be executing a
search warrant or fire crews responding to a fire, Halsey-Brandt said.

"For our community, this is really serious stuff," he said.

RCMP Const. Bruno Paquette said there is no single profile for marijuana
growers. Some are in their early 20s while others are in their 60s.

"Everybody's doing it."